


The Divine

by tetsuyacchi



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: I don't take credit for that, I originally wrote this for wattpad, OC is Klaus' twin, it has a lot of the original script in here, only Thea Hargreeves, so it's different than what I normally write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2019-11-08 15:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 80,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17983844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tetsuyacchi/pseuds/tetsuyacchi
Summary: Thea Hargreeves had already experienced loss in her short life, but her family was something she was determined to keep together and close to her heart. No matter what."No.0 exhibits the astonishing ability to manipulate all matters of the mind. It seems she can both control it and warp it however she wishes. Making you both her puppet and canvas."Ben/OC {romance}Klaus/OC {twins}





	1. The Twins

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the tags, this was originally written over on wattpad and so some of the formatting choices don't work as well over here on ao3. However, I wanted to upload it anyway. There is a lot of the original script in this story and my character works around that - BUT I love adding detail and so there are loads of original scenes and flashbacks!
> 
> The faceclaim for Thea is Elle Fanning. I'm fine with you imagining somebody else, however, I don't ever describe Thea in the story because I just imagine her as Elle.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Go check out my wattpad for the original version of this (with all it's graphics included.) https://www.wattpad.com/user/vanillatsu

It was on the 12th hour of the first day of October 1989, when 43 women around the world simultaneously gave birth.

These births could be considered miracles to many, as prior to that exact moment, none of the women had even been pregnant.

Sir Reginald Hargreeves, eccentric billionaire and adventurer, certainly thought so, and he was determined to find and adopt **as many of these miracle children as he possibly could.**

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

It was in a rural area in the most northern part of Germany, where the screams of a young woman could be heard. The girl couldn't have been older than 17 and this caused many people to gather around her in both shock and concern.

Her hair sat matted atop her sweaty forehead as she cried out in pain, hunched over the public park bench. She had been on her way home from her classes, enjoying the crisp autumn air when she suddenly doubled over in excruciating pain; her abdomen now swollen and round. As more people gathered around her and she felt her stomach cramp painfully once more, she felt her vision go black.

She awoke hours later, in the hospital bed with a peculiar man wearing a monocle standing above her. Upon seeing that the girl was awake, he wasted no time before asking the pivotal question.

"How much for both?"

 

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

 

**In the end, he got eight of them.**

 

◈ The two little twins who were currently side by side in their shared baby carriage; hands clutched together, would from this day forward become known to the world as No.0 and No.4 ◈


	2. The Family Reunion

If someone were to ask Thea Hargreeves what she was doing the moment she heard the news of her late Father's passing, she would answer wholeheartedly with the truth.

She was high as hell.

Sitting on the couch smoking a joint wasn't how Thea had planned to spend her day - wasn't how she ever really planned to spend her days honestly - but here she was, spread across the sofa struggling to focus her eyes on what exactly the TV was showing her.

**"Incoming transmission. We're going live to a breaking story."**

She grabs the remote to turn up the volume, her curiosity peaked. Sitting up slightly to get a better look, the head on her lap shifts and so she continues again to stroke through the soft strands.

**"Moments ago, police reported the death of the most eccentric and reclusive billionaire-"**

"What's up?" the voice below her asks. She turns her attention away from the very familiar face now displayed on the screen to look down at her brother.

"It's Dad, apparently he's finally kicked the bucket." She nods towards the TV, where Sir Reginald Hargreeves' face was still plastered in all its smug glory, monocle and all.

"Huh. Who would've thought." Klaus said, blinking slowly at the screen. "I mean, I was pretty sure he'd become immortal at some point, outlive us all."

She chuckled. "What a true tragedy that would be, my dear. I suppose the world can sleep safely now."

Klaus turned away from the TV to face her, "We going?"

"Hm?"

"Are we going to our dear daddy's funeral?" he asks.

She hummed in thought, "I suppose we are. Guess we couldn't have stayed away from that place forever."

He jumps up and laughs, his eyes dazed and smile wide. "I'll go pack a bag then, looks like it's time for a good old family reunion."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

The two strolled up to the house, and upon facing the imposing brick foundation, they couldn't help but relive old memories. It hadn't changed much in the time they'd spent away, it's dated aesthetic still stood out against the modern surroundings.

Thea and Klaus let themselves in - why knock? It was technically their house - and found themselves interrupting what seemed to be an awkward conversation between four people in the living room.

Luther seemed to fidget before standing up, "Um, so I figured we-"

"Started without us, have you?" Thea said as she walked into the room, her arm linked with Klaus'.

"That's a little mean, don't you think?" Klaus finished, grinning lazily. He did a silly wave, the 'Hello' tattooed onto his palm proudly on show.

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze with shock. Thea looked around, a smirk tugging at her lips, "Cat got your tongue?"

"Thea, Klaus? Omg, you came." Allison said, standing up to give them both welcome hugs.

"Hey, al." They replied in unison. Thea nodded to Diego who sat in front of them, still in slight disbelief.

"W-what, I mean, um- you're here?" Luther sputtered, his face showing the clear shock at their arrival.

"What, weren't we invited? Ouch, that hurts big bro." Thea said dramatically, her hand against her heart, leaning against Klaus for 'support'.

"Oh wow, Luther! Wow, you really, uh, you really filled out over the years, huh?" he chuckled awkwardly, pointed toward his huge frame. Thea chuckled, her eyes roaming over her brother's massive physique.

"He's right, what the hell did you do? Steroids? Never took you for a roids man, Luth."

"Shut up. This isn't the time." He said. "Anyway, now that you're here, I guess we can officially start." He gave the two twins a pointed look.

Thea took a seat on the sofa behind her and gave Vanya a small smile. Vanya seemed shocked for a completely different reason, the greeting seeming to take her off guard.

 _Looks like she expected me to hate her too for that stupid book of hers._  Thea had honestly stopped caring at this point.  _What's done is done._ Vanya was still her sister at the end of the day. And humans fuck up. Big deal. Although she did have a choice few words for the girl on how she depicted Klaus - like he was some crazy psycho always out looking for attention.

The conversation going on around her broke Thea out of her train of thought.

"Dad had a favourite spot?" she heard Allison ask.

"Yeah, you know, under the oak tree. We used to sit there all the time, you guys never did that?" He seemed genuinely puzzled.

"No Luther, none of us got to have playtime with our dear old daddy. That was just you."

Klaus came from the bar and sat by Thea, his head resting on her shoulder. He had a glass of whiskey in one hand, and a joint in the other. "Will there be refreshments? Tea? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a favourite."

"What? No. And put that out, you know Dad didn't allow smoking in here." He said.

Thea rolled her eyes, her hand automatically reaching up to run her fingers through the curls on Klaus' head. "Oh, lighten up. Besides, he's not here now anyway so the rule no longer applies."

She took the joint out of her brother's hands and put it up to her lips to take a drag. Breathing out slowly, she couldn't help but let out a content sigh. "Much better." She put it back between Klaus' lips.

"Listen up, there's still some-" Luther said before being cut off by Diego "Since when do you smoke?" he asked, his eyes narrowed upon Thea.

"Since I had to put up with all your guys' thoughts at once. God, you're all so noisy." She leaned her head back against the sofa. "Trust me, if you had to listen to the utter nonsense you guys think about you'd want to be high too."

Luther seemed to have had enough as he stood up, his large frame making quite the intimidating front. "We still have important things that we still need to discuss, all right?"

"Like what?" Diego mumbled from beside him.

"Like the way he died." "-and here we go."

"I-I don't understand," Vanya spoke up for the first time since the pair had arrived. "I thought they said it was a heart attack?"

"Yeah, according to the coroner," Luther replied.

"Well, wouldn't they know?" she asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Theoretically."

"Theoretically?" This time it was Allison. Thea honestly felt like she was watching a bloody tennis match, her head bobbing back and forth between them all.

"Look," he seemed to get defensive, "I'm just saying at the very least something happened. The last time I talked to Dad he sounded strange."

Klaus shifted beside her, leaning back to gurgle his drink "Oh.  _Quelle surprise_!" Thea couldn't help but chuckle. Even in such situations, her brother always was such a dork. And he always complained that no one took him seriously. What does he expect acting like that?  _Idiot_. She smiled fondly.

"Strange how?" "He sounded on edge, told me I should be careful who I trust..."

Diego got up from in front of the fire. Thea couldn't help but let out a snort at what he was wearing.  _Seriously, what kind of fetish get up is that? Who knew little Diego had a thing for straps?_ "Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles."

"No, he must have known something was going to happen." Luther denied.

Thea felt like rolling her eyes until they rolled up into her skull.  _What a surprise, Luther doesn't agree with Diego and vice versa_. She looked at Vanya and Allison out the corner of her eye. Allison was watching the two closely, but Vanya seemed to be staring off into the distance.

Thea was tempted to peek into her head and see what had her so distracted, but she'd made a promise to herself that she wouldn't do that again unless necessary.  _Only when necessary. Then I'll do it. I mean it's basically an invasion of privacy, right?_  She mentally shrugged, she didn't really care, but it just got so loud that she'd spent weeks as a kid controlling her ability to be able to shut all the voices out. No point going backwards...

Although all that seemed to go out the window when she heard Luther's next words. "Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad."

Klaus scoffed, "I can't just call Dad in the afterlife and be like, 'Dad, could you just...stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?" Thea snorted at that mental image.

Luther was pissed "Since when? That's your thing."

"I'm not in the right...frame of mind." He replied, trying to explain himself.

"You're high?" Allison accused.

Klaus laughed, gesturing at everyone "Yeah, I mean, how are you not, listening to this nonsense?" he turned to look at his twin and she felt the need to defend his actions. She looked at Luther, "Look, I get you want to talk to Dad about all this, but you can't go demanding things like that of him. You even said it yourself! He doesn't like doing it. Lay off." She narrowed her eyes at Luther, daring him to disagree.

He looked away and huffed. "Fine, whatever, but then there's the issue of the missing monocle." Diego couldn't help but point out "who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?"

"Exactly." Luther agreed.  _What a change. Has the earth imploded yet?_  He turned to look at Diego and Allison, "So whoever took it, I think it was personal." His eyes shifted around at them.

Thea narrowed her eyes. Every thought she'd had previously about privacy and giving people their personal space went out the window, because if what she currently suspected was right... _that son of a bitch thinks one of us killed Dad_. One look inside his mind proved it.

Thea let out a humourless chuckle and they all turned to look at her. "What?" Luther asked.

"You know Luther, I always knew you were a professional suck up, but I never took you for a junior detective in training." She snarked. The others looked at her in confusion, although Thea could tell Diego had seemed to understand her insinuation.

Klaus looked at his twin in befuddlement, his mind honestly too clouded to even keep up, "Where are you even going with this?"

Thea opened her mouth to tell him, but Diego got there first. "Oh, isn't it obvious Klaus? He thinks one of us killed Dad."

Thea wasn't surprised this statement was met with silence. Even she had a problem believing he'd assume one of them killed him. Thea herself hated the man but even she wouldn't stoop so low as to kill him.  _Who knows what would have happened to me and Klaus had he not bought us? Clearly, our birth mother wasn't capable, and there's never any guarantee that twins stay together in the system. Plus, I'd have never met Be_ -" She cut off that line of thinking before she delved far too deep into memories that, for now, were better left safely locked away into the back of her mind. She didn't need to torture herself more than she already did,  _every single day_. Her thumb absentmindedly rubbed against the inside of her left wrist. Klaus seemed to catch the action, for he silently took her hand into his own and began to rub soothing circles into her palm. She looked up and opened her mouth to thank him when she noticed that they were the only two left in the room.

"Where'd the others go?" She asked.

He let out a small laugh and smirked, "So caught up in your head that you didn't even hear everyone declare their undying hatred and outrage at Luther and leave?"

Thea just hummed, her gaze going back down to where Klaus' thumb was now rubbing her wrist. He looked down too, most notably at the tattoo of a small tentacle that wrapped around her wrist, almost lovingly. She couldn't help but smile, her eyes glazing over at the reminder that was forever engrained on her skin, the reminder of her one true love.

Klaus leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He then pulled her up and led her to the stairs. "Come on, let's go check out our old rooms whilst everyone's moping around like bores. What do you say, 'ol sister of mine?" he grinned.

Thea let out a small giggle at his silliness. "Lead the way, Klausy."


	3. The Bank Robbery

 

17 years ago

 

**"In five, four, three, two... this is Jim Hellerman, reporting live for Channel 2 news outside of the Capital West bank at Main and Sixth. A group of heavily armed men stormed the bank not three hours ago and took an unknown number of hostages."**

 

"Hey, get them behind the counter!" The man shouted as he rounded up the hostages, gun in hand. "Now you've put me in a position where I've got to do something I don't want to do."

Allison calmly skipped up to the man, arms clasped behind her back, like she didn't have a care in the world. The man turned to her, "Hey, get back with the others!"

Allison took a step closer, "I heard a rumour."

"Huh?"

She took another step closer, a smug smirk on her face. "I heard a rumour...that you shot your friend in the foot." The man's eyes glazed over as he proceeded to turn around and shoot his bewildered accomplice twice. The hostages screamed.

Luther jumped down from the rooftop into another man, slamming his head against the counter before using his super strength to throw him straight through a window.

Diego ran in shouting "Guns are for sissies. Real men throw knives." He threw his daggers straight forward, only to use his power to curve them at the last-minute landing them straight into the chest of one of the men.

Thea couldn't help but snort at that, "Real men, really Diego?" "Hey, shut up!" She smirked, "Never mind real men, let me show you what a real woman can do." She prowled towards a man, who seemed to realise he was in danger as he raised his gun towards her. She laughed, "Really? You're going to point that tiny thing at me? Haven't you got anything larger, big boy?" she winked his way. Before he could do anything else, she made eye contact and delved into his mind, bending his will to her own.

 _Do it_. She whispered into the darkest corners of his mind.  _Do it now, follow what I say_. He slowly brought the gun up to his head, hand shaking.

"Do it." She said with a smile on her face. And he did. The man shot himself with her smile mirrored on his own face.

"That's still always scary to watch, sis..." Klaus whispered into the silence that followed. Thea turned around to see her siblings and some of the hostages watching her in fear.  _Oh, you have every right to fear me. I'm No.0_

Thea grinned at her twin, "Then you'll just have to make sure to never get on my bad side, won't you Klausy?"

The man on the counter seemed to come back to himself after watching Thea kill his friend and began aiming at all of them in a crazed frenzy. "G-get back you freaks."

"Hey, be careful up there buddy." "Yeah, wouldn't want you to get hurt." Diego and Allison riled him up, before Five popped up behind him "Or what?" before popping away.

The man was frustrated and unloaded most of his magazine into the space Five was just in, before Five popped back in behind him, punching him in the face with the newly replaced weapon. "That's one badass stapler!" Thea laughed out loud at this comment, making Five turn around and smirk at her.

Luther took charge again. "They shouldn't be here to see this." He said, pointing towards the hostages. They nod and began to show them the way out, un-taping their hands and mouths. As the hostages ran out of the building, Ben timidly turned to the others. "Do we really have to do this?" He looked over at Thea and Klaus for help.

"Come on, Ben. There's still more guys in the vault." Luther said.

Thea grinned and sauntered up to him, before wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning down to whisper into his ear "C'mon tentacle boy, do your worst." She kissed his cheek before sending him a smirk. "We'll be waiting right here," she continued, her smile turning soft "and we can all go get hot chocolate when we get home." They all smiled at this. They all loved the times when they could bond as real kids should. Ben nodded, a small blush on his cheeks, before walking into the room separated by glass. Mumbling under his breath "I didn't sign up for this..."

As Ben did his part, Thea started to look around for Klaus. She could have sworn he was right beside her a minute ago. The screams behind the glass got louder as the monsters under Ben's skin tore the men apart with ease. It's was only as he opened the door and started to ask to go home that Thea caught sight of Klaus. Her blood boiled at what she saw.

They'd missed a man who now had a gun pointing directly to Klaus' head as he tried to sneak up behind him. Klaus was unaware. Because his powers weren't the most combat-relative he often left to talk to the dead that hung around during missions.

The others were all looking at Ben when they heard a low growl coming from Thea. Her eyes had gone almost white and her fists were shaking at her sides. When they turned to see what had gotten her so upset, they saw Klaus looking scared. He'd only just realised someone had been behind him all this time. The man however, was frozen. His eyes wide in terror as he looked back at Thea.

 _Do you like that? That's what you get for even **thinking**  of touching Klaus. I know everything about you. What makes you laugh, what makes you cry...and what makes you  **fear**. _With that, she tugged her fist downwards and the man's eyes rolled violently back into his head and he dropped dead, foaming at the mouth.

Everyone was quiet. They all knew just how close Thea and Klaus were. Out of all of them, only those two were real siblings. Blood-related. It's not like the twins treated the others differently or any less because of it, it just meant that they both sometimes got... _overprotective_  of the other.

Thea came back to herself as she turned to see all her siblings looking back at her in slight awe. She immediately noticed Ben had come out, the poor boy was covered head to toe in blood. She ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck not minding the blood, grinning cheekily. "Ben! Did you miss me?" The others all shook their heads laughing at her complete change in attitude.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

The children walked out of the bank, having taken care of all the thieves inside. They lined up on the stairs waiting for their father to arrive. Reporters were shouting questions but they all ignored them, just as Father had ordered them to.

"Shouldn't you be over that way, Z?" Five asked. He nodded his head over to where Luther, Diego and Allison were stood. Despite now having names, Five continued to call her Zero. Thea wondered if it made him feel closer to others if they kept their numbers like him.

"Nah, all my favourite people are over this way." She replied with a grin. She met Ben's eyes and winked, "although I think I found my favourite." He looked down bright red whilst Five and Klaus burst out laughing at his embarrassed face. Thea slapped her brothers for laughing before she turned and saw their Father on his way over. She gave them each a kiss on the cheek before running over to stand by Luther, now in order.

 

**"Our world is changing. Has changed. There are some among us gifted with abilities far beyond the ordinary. I have adopted seven such children. I give you the inaugural class of the Umbrella Academy."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	4. The Return of a Brother

 

Klaus and Thea sat side by side in their shared room on Klaus' bed. Their Father had tried getting them to sleep in separate rooms and had at one point even forbid them from sharing. But when Klaus' nightmares got worse, and his screaming started affecting the others in the house too, he decided to just let the twins share; anything to let the children sleep and be in top shape for their next mission.

Thea didn't mind, she'd never really wanted an overly girly room like Allison anyway. If anyone else were to look into their room, they'd probably find the contrasting colours pretty funny. Whilst Klaus' side mainly consisted of dark colours and his wall was adorned with posters and tapestries, hers was a stark white only decorated by a few choice photographs and fairy lights. The room looked like the embodiment of yin and yang, but Thea liked it. She felt it reflected them perfectly. Not that Klaus was the darkness in her life, as a matter of fact, he was her only light. However, she felt that both the contrast and the fact that one wasn't complete without the other, described them better than she ever could.

"Lost in thought again?" Klaus asked. Thea blinked a few times to come back from her thoughts. She did that a lot - always thinking too much - she guessed it was a remnant of her powers.

"Just thinking. This room brings back memories, don't you think?"

"Memories, sure. Memories like walking into  _my own_  room and seeing my sister making out with my best friend?" he asked sarcastically. Thea blushed.

"I mean, it is my room too..." she mumbled.

Klaus continued on like he hadn't heard her. His hand waving around dramatically "or better yet, what about that time that I opened the door and you were-"

"Alright, I get it!" Thea exclaimed, bright red. "No need to bring up  _those_  memories. Don't you have any good ones?"

"Hmm, well the time you did that makeover was pretty funny, although Dad didn't seem to think so." He huffed out of laugh.

Thea could remember that day. She'd been wondering what to wear as their Father had allowed them a rare day off to go outside the academy - though it was more for training purposes than for fun - and she'd wanted to impress Ben. Klaus had gotten sick of her whining over choosing an outfit and had grabbed all her clothes but one dress and declared that she  _just had_  to wear that one. He'd then proceeded to put on her long black skirt and prance around the room declaring that  _'It doesn't matter what you wear, my dear, you'll never look as dashing as moi.'_ They'd both burst out laughing at his comment before their Father had interrupted them sternly.  _'There is no time for playing around, Number 0, Number 4. Stop this foolishness at once.'_ He'd then taken one look at Klaus in Thea's skirt and walked out.

Thea huffed, "Don't think I never realised that most of my skirts never made it back into my wardrobe." She told him.

"I look better in them anyway." Klaus said, mirroring his comments that day and sticking his tongue out childishly.

Thea smiled at her brother fondly, "You're probably right." The two laughed at that.

"So what exactly did the others say when Luther accused us of murder?" she asked. She'd been so deep in her thoughts that she'd missed everyone walking out.

Klaus leaned back onto the bed and sighed. "Hmm, well Vanya seemed hurt that he'd even thought it. Allison pretty much stormed out after giving him a glare, and Diego was pissed off but pretty smug."

"Not much surprise there, then." She said. The whole house knew of Luther and Diego's constant fight for dominance. Thea just thought it was a stupid battle over a useless title. "They're both idiots honestly. Who gives a shit about how he died?" Thea probably sounded cold, but she honestly didn't really care Hargreeves was dead. Didn't mean she'd killed him though.

Klaus seemed to be in thought. Thea nudged him. "What's up?"

"Maybe I should try contacting him...I mean, it can't be that hard, can it? It's  _what I do."_  He finished bitterly.

Thea didn't want her brother having any contact with the bastard, but she could see the benefits in trying. Not for Luther's stupid investigation but for Klaus' self-esteem. He often forgot just how powerful an ability he had and felt it was 'useless' compared to everyone else's. Thea disagreed, she understood where her brothers dislike of his power came from; seeing the dead everywhere and hearing their tales must be horrible. But she couldn't help that nagging jealousy that lived in the deep recesses of her mind that whispered the benefits of being able to contact the dead.  _I'd be able to see **him**  every day. Talk to him. Ask him if he's okay._

Thea shrugged to his question. "If you want to. You know I'll support you either way."

Klaus smiled at her before bringing his hands up to the sides of her face and kissing her forehead. "Thanks, sis." He jumped up from the bed before stretching his arms above his head and grinning at Thea. "Well then, let's get going. Time to speak to dear old daddy-o."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea sat at the bar sipping a glass of whisky, bored out of her mind. Klaus was across from her talking to their Fathers urn that sat on the bar table, trying - and failing - to contact him.

"-to communicate with the dead, I might think about, I don't know, I don't know...manifesting!" Klaus said making a wide-armed gesture. Thea continued to watch on in part amusement as he animatedly put his hands on his hips imitating an angry parent. "Do the big whole angry ghost lecture."

He raised his hands in a mock prayer "tell everyone who done it and find eternal peace." Thea snorted.  _Eternal peace. If that old bastard gets eternal peace, then karma really is fucked up._

Klaus sighed in frustration before rubbing his face in agitation. "Just need to sober up."

"Being sober is overrated." Thea commented, lifting her drink up in a salute.

Klaus seemed to agree. He leaned forward "yeah...god, I need a drink." He reached over to the glasses by Thea before accidentally knocking over Hargreeves' urn. His ashes went all over the bar. Klaus choked before putting his hands up to his mouth in horror while Thea just stared in shock. She looked over at her brother and as he looked back they both couldn't help but burst out into hysterical laughter.

"I don't know whether to feel bad or find it hilariously fitting." She said. She looked down at her drink and then at her Father's ashes before knocking it back in one go. "Forget alcohol, what I need right now is something more..." she trailed off and looked to her brother "-compelling."

Klaus grinned at Thea and showed her two joints he had kept from before. Thea grinned back.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

The twins were tangled up with one another atop the kitchen table, high and giggling when they heard the music coming from upstairs.

♪ **"Children behave. That's what they say when we're together."** ♪

Thea rolled her eyes. Luther. Of course that doof would think that apologising for accusing them of murdering their own father would be to play a song he knew they all liked.

♪ **"And watch how you play. They don't understand and so we're running just as fast as we can."** ♪

Thea felt Klaus shift beside her before looking up at the ceiling. He turned towards her with an eyebrow raised and she shrugged in amusement.

♪ **"Holdin' on to one another's hand."** ♪

Klaus gripped Thea's hand and pulled her up and off the table.

♪ **"Tryin' to get away into the night, and then you put your arms around me and we tumble to the ground and then you say-"** ♪

Klaus began spinning her around and she let out a laugh before joining in and twirling into his arm.

♪ **"I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone around."** ♪

The two continued to dance together. They had big grins on their faces as they mock waltzed around the kitchen. They were having way too much fun.

♪ **"I think we're alone now. The beating of our hearts is the only sound."** ♪

Klaus stood on the table and pointed towards Thea who stood below him. He began mock serenading her. Thea threw her head back and laughed at Klaus' dramatics.

♪ **"Look at the way, we gotta hide what we're doin'. Cause what would they say, if they ever knew and so we're running just as fast as we can. Holdin' onto one another's hand. Tryin' to get away into the night and then you put your arms around me and we tumble to the ground and then you say 'I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone around..."** ♪

They continued to dance, unaware of the rest of their siblings doing the exact same thing all over the house. Thea was about to jump up onto the table to join Klaus when lightning struck, and the music stopped. The lights went out. Thea looked around in confusion before a knife went flying past her head, missing by an inch. Klaus caught their fathers urn before it flew off the table. "Daddy?" he asked in a high pitch voice. They looked at each other before running outside to see what was going on.

Thea got outside before Klaus. When she looked up she could see a giant mass of blue energy that was fluctuating. She was about to ask what was going on when her brother ran past her with a fire extinguisher in hand. "Out of the way!" he ran up to the blue energy and tried spraying it before getting annoyed and throwing it in. The thing just absorbed the extinguisher. Thea ran forward to grab Klaus "What the hell are you doing? It could be dangerous, idiot!"

"What is that gonna do!?" Allison shouted in frustration.

Klaus shrugged "I don't know. Do you have a better idea?"

The mass of energy crackled and got bigger. Luther stepped in front of them, his arms raised either side. "Whoa, woah, woah. Everyone get behind me." Diego butted in "Yeah get behind us." Thea would have rolled her eyes at them, but she was too busy looking at the thing above them.

Klaus shouted, "I vote for running, c'mon." He took a hold of Thea's hand and tried tugging her away. She put a hand on his chest and looked closer at the anomaly. She could see the outline of a person inside it.  _What the hell-_

The thunder cracked even louder and then stopped completely as a figure fell out and onto the floor. The blue energy disappeared. All that was left was the figure of a small boy laying on the ground.

They all cautiously stepped closer to get a better look. The boy lifted himself up and looked at them all. Thea felt froze and her eyes widened in shock. She looked around at her siblings to see them in the same state. Luther and Diego's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion whilst Allison and Vanya were as astonished as Thea. Klaus spoke from the back of the group. "Does anyone else see little Number 5 or is that just me?" he turned to look at his twin for confirmation, but she was too busy staring at the boy in front of them.

Number Five. He was stood there looking at them in confusion before he glanced down at his baggy suit. He looked back up and swore.

"Shit."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Five set the breadboard down. They were all in the kitchen surrounding him. He walked over to the fridge and asked "What's the date? The exact date."

Thea answered before anyone else could. "March 24th." Five looked up at her answer. Thea couldn't pinpoint the emotion in his eyes before he looked back down at his hands.

"Good." Five began making his sandwich as Luther cut in. "So, are we gonna talk about what just happened?" Five ignored him and continued with what he was doing. Luther stood up, towering over Five. "It's been 17 years."

Five scoffed "It's been a lot longer than that." He spacial jumped through Luther over to the kitchen cupboard. Luther muttered, "I haven't missed that."

"Where'd you go?" Diego asked.

"The future. It's shit by the way." Five replied, jumping back in front of them again.

Klaus' arm shot up. "Called it!" he looked around for recognition and Thea smiled at him fondly.

"I should've listened to the old man. Y'know jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice." He continued making his sandwich but looked up at Klaus. "Nice dress." Klaus was pleased and thanked him with a flourish "Oh, well, Danke."

Vanya finally spoke up from the side of the table. "Wait, how did you get back?"

"In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time." Five explained. Thea looked around at her siblings and burst out laughing at their confused faces. They all looked to her, including Five and she put up her hands in mock surrender. "I'm sorry, but all your faces are hilarious." She mocked their confused expressions. Diego didn't seem to find it funny. "That makes no sense." He said to Five.

"Well, it would if you were smarter." Five replied. That just set Thea off again. She had to cover her mouth to stop the giggles at Diego's affronted expression. Diego shot up and Luther held him back.

"How long were you there?" he asked.

"Forty-five years. Give or take." Five replied. Luther sat down in shock. Everyone looked at Five in shock, but Thea just felt pity. Five noticed as he made eye contact with her before looking away. Luther carried on, "What are you saying? That you're 58?"

"No, my consciousness is 58. Apparently, my body is now 13 again." With that said he took a bite out of the peanut butter-marshmallow sandwich. Thea smiled at that. It seems that even as an old man he kept his childish appetite.

Vanya couldn't wrap her head around what Five was saying. She frowned "Wait, how does that even work?"

Five took a step away from the table. "Delores kept saying the equations were off. Eh." He took another bite. "Bet she's laughing now."

His comment only confused the group more. "Delores?" Vanya asked.

Five ignored her comment and picked up the newspaper from the table. "Guess I missed the funeral." He hummed.

Luther shot back "How'd you know about that?"

Thea couldn't stop her eye roll this time. "God Luther stop being so suspicious. What part of coming from the future don't you understand?" she asked sarcastically. Luther huffed. Five continued. "Heart failure huh?"

"Yeah." "No." Luther and Diego answered at the same time. This time everyone rolled their eyes. Thea huffed in amusement and leaned against Klaus who sat in front of her, her head on his shoulder.

Five didn't seem to care. He clicked his tongue. "See nothings changed." He said as he walked away. Allison turned to follow him "Uh, that's it? That's all you have to say?" she questioned.

"What else is there to say? The circle of life." Five replied as he walked out of the room.

The rest of the siblings were left in silence. Luther huffed, "Well. That was interesting."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea decided to sit in the living room to rest for a while before they had the memorial. Her head was beginning to ache as she came down from her high and sobered up. She lay on the sofa with her arm thrown over her eyes, blocking out the light.

Thea could feel a constant humming in the back of her mind that signalled the returning of her powers. Thea could control her powers, and the mind-reading aspect was something she could be selective about using. However just because she didn't hear someone's every thought, if they felt anything strongly - like fear or surprise - the voices in their head were almost shouted out to Thea. It seemed that no matter how well she controlled it, some thoughts and feelings were broadcasted loud and clear. She hated the constant humming when she was around others. It was the replacement for the voices in her mind. The noise indicated someone was near and thinking, but their thoughts were muffled and just left behind a humming.

A humming that drove Thea _bat shit insane._

"Are you okay?" Vanya asked. Thea opened her eyes to see her sister stood over her, looking concerned.

Thea hummed in confirmation. "Just a headache. I need another drink." She said.

Vanya was concerned "I don't think that's the best idea. C-can I do anything to help?"

Thea heard the slight hope in Vanya's voice.  _Even after all these years, you're still clinging to that need for approval, Vanya?_ Thea loved her sister, she really did, but she never agreed with her constant need for validation.  _Why bother? Who gives a shit what anyone thinks but you? You're the one that's got to live with yourself, nobody else._ Thea didn't agree but that didn't mean she didn't understand. Out of all the children in the Umbrella Academy, it could be argued that Reginald Hargreeves fucked up Vanya Hargreeves the most.

"Nah, I'm good. Just need to see it through." Thea looked up at Vanya and gave her a small smile, "but thanks, sis. It's nice to know you care." Vanya smiled back and gave a small nod. She walked up to the fireplace where the portrait of Number Five hung. Thea was about to close her eyes again when a voice got her attention. "Nice to know Dad didn't forget me."

Five walked in and stood next to Vanya, looking up at his portrait. He gave Thea a glance before looking back at Vanya. "Read your book, by the way. Found it in a library that was still standing." Five walked past Thea on the sofa, his hands in his pockets. "Thought it was pretty good, all things considered." Vanya looked on. "Yeah, definitely ballsy, giving up the family secrets." Five took a step closer to Vanya. He took another quick glance at Thea. "Sure that went over well."

Vanya glanced at Thea too. "They hate me." She admitted.

Thea snorted in amusement. Five and Vanya turned to look at her on the sofa. Thea's eyes were closed. She decided to be honest. "I'm pretty sure they don't hate you. Though maybe Diego..." she hummed. "But you're our sister, and honestly if I was in your situation I probably would have done the same thing." Thea admitted. Vanya looked shocked while Five raised a brow in question. Thea opened her eyes to look at them both.

"I mean, why not, right? Siblings argue all the time, and yeah, you probably could have been a little nicer in how you depicted us, but I'd say most of us had it coming." Thea answered. She looked directly at Vanya "Although you could have gone without calling my brother an 'attention-seeking boy who refuses to use his macabre powers to the best of his abilities.'" Thea narrowed her eyes and leaned forward a little. "I don't give a shit what you said about me, and honestly the rest probably deserved what you wrote, but mentioning Klaus' powers like that was uncalled for." She finished.

Vanya looked ashamed. Thea knew she wrote the book at a time of anger and loneliness. She knew that a lot of what was written were words of spite and envy at a time when Vanya was just hurt and confused, but that didn't mean Thea could forget the hurtful things she'd said about Klaus' powers.  _Powers he didn't even want._

Sensing the awkward mood, Thea clicked her tongue before falling back against the sofa in a dramatic huff. "But who cares about that shit anymore, right? Dad's dead, this guy" she pointed at Five, "-decided to come back, and I hear we're having cucumber sandwiches after the memorial. Happy days." Thea grinned lazily.

Five was amused at her rambling, though there was a glint of something else in his eyes that Thea was honestly too tired to even work out right now. Vanya cleared her throat before nodding.

Five hummed, "Well, there are worse things that can happen."

Vanya spoke without thinking of who exactly was sat in the room. "You mean like what happened to Ben?"

Thea froze. Her fingernails digging into her palms at the reminder of the one person she missed most in the world. Her eyes started watering and her throat felt tight.

Vanya and Five didn't seem to notice. "Was it bad?" Five asked. Thea didn't hear Vanya's reply. She shot up from her place on the sofa. Five and Vanya realised with a start that she was still there, and their eyes widened in regret. Thea gave a false grin, but Five and Vanya could see the wetness in her eyes. "What's with all this sad talk, eh? If you're just going to be saps, then I'm off to find Klaus." She waved her hand with false bravado, "Cheerio!" Five and Vanya watched as she sauntered off outside.

Vanya looked down in guilt and shame. Five clenched his jaw as he watched his sister leave in pain.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter should be up sometime later today. Thanks for reading!


	5. The Memorial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning beforehand, there's a slight reference to suicide in a flashback in this chapter. I don't want to trigger or upset anyone. (It's nothing graphic.)
> 
> Thanks for reading, as always :)

 

Thea walked from the living room straight to the backyard. She knew Five and Vanya hadn't meant to upset her, but she couldn't sit there whilst they spoke about Ben. She could hardly handle thinking about him at the best of times. Thea sighed before stepping into the cold. She raised her eyes to the statue that sat in the rain. Her eyes watered again and this time she didn't even try to hold them in. Nobody could see. There was no need to pretend anymore.

Thea walked over to the statue and sat down beside it. She brought her legs up and rested her arms on her knees. She lent her head against the legs of the statue and just let the rain fall. Thea looked at the plaque and ran her fingers over the name engraved upon it.

**Ben Hargreeves**

**May the darkness within you find peace in the light**

Thea didn't like the plaque. Ben had no darkness within him. Even his power couldn't make her believe that he had a shred of darkness in his whole body. He was the kindest and most loving person she had ever met, and he made it easy for Thea to fall in love with him. She loved him so much. If she didn't think Klaus would suffer from her death she would happily switch places, so Ben could live again. Thea absentmindedly rubbed her thumb against her left wrist.

She wished he could have lived he deserved. As much as she was glad to have met him – nothing ever compared – she sometimes wished that Hargreeves had never adopted him. Because Ben didn't deserve the life he'd lived at the Umbrella Academy. Thea liked to believe she'd made his life better, but he was so full of love to give that she believed he could have had a better life somewhere else. A more fulfilling life.

Thea sighed. This was why she didn't like thinking so much. It only brought up unhappy memories and regrets. She could hardly even think of the happy times she'd spent with Ben – there'd be so many – because every time she did, the fact he wasn't beside her, laughing and sharing these memories with her made her almost double over in  **agony**.

The rain felt good against her skin, and it washed away her tears as she let them flow freely down her face. Thea heard the door that led outside opening but didn't bother to move. She heard footsteps coming closer before a hand came to rest on her shoulder. The rain seemed to have stopped hitting her. The other ran through her hair and Thea knew who it was. She sighed in content.

"Want some?" Klaus asked from above her. Thea opened her eyes to see him standing under a small pink umbrella, holding out a joint. She nodded and took it from him. It was probably disrespectful to smoke over someone's memorial statue, but Thea honestly believed Ben would find it funny, if not exasperating. He always was the goody-two-shoes out of the three of them. Thea felt a small smile grace her face. She took a drag and let out a long sigh.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

Klaus hummed. He looked down at his sister in a mix of pity and understanding. He often felt guilty whenever he saw Thea's reaction over Ben's death because he knew that deep down, she wished she was with him. He knew she would go in a heartbeat if she didn't have Klaus to look after. Klaus knew this, and he couldn't help but sometimes feel jealous that she felt that strongly over someone other than her own twin. He knew it was irrational and a little cruel but seeing her so despondent and empty often left him feeling guilty for keeping her here with him. Klaus couldn't help but think back to a time when he felt closest to losing Thea. A time where he was selfish enough to push her away and not cherish just what he had...

 

 

**_ 3 years ago _ **

_Klaus was high, as usual, and walking down the alley to meet someone he could make a deal with when he got a call. He debated on ignoring it when he felt a sense of unease creep over him. Klaus shook his head before sighing and pulling out his phone. "Hello?" he asked._

_"Hello. Is this Klaus Hargreeves speaking?" a professional voice asked._

_Klaus was confused, who the hell was calling him? "Yeah, who's this?" he asked._

_"Hello Mr Hargreeves-" Klaus shuddered at that visual, "-I'm speaking on behalf of Miss Thea Hargreeves. She has been admitted into Mount Sinai Hospital and you were first on her list of next of kin. Are you available to come and sign her out and help her home?"_

_Klaus felt his stomach drop. Thea was in the hospital? What had happened? Was she okay? Klaus didn't hear the woman repeating his name or the fact she'd asked him to sign Thea **out**  the hospital. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart._

_"-greevs. Mr Hargreeves are you there?" the woman asked again._

_Klaus snapped out of his daze and rushed to speak. "Y-yes, I mean yeah I'm here. How's Thea? Is she okay? W-what happened?"_

_"From what it says on her file, Miss Hargreeves was found in her apartment by her neighbour after she didn't reply to his calls. He had a spare key she had given him for emergencies and let himself in. Mr Knowles says that he found Miss Hargreeves in the bath bleeding out." Klaus almost threw up. "She was rushed to the hospital immediately and was given treatment. She is currently stable and will be able to be discharged tomorrow. Are you available to pick her up or shall I ask the next on the list?"_

_Klaus swallowed before replying. "Y-yeah I can pick her up. Uh, gimme 10 minutes and I'll be there. Does she need anything?"_

_The woman simply replied "No Mr Hargreeves, she simply needs somebody to pick her up. Thank you for your time. Just check in at the reception upon arrival. Goodbye, and have a good day." The phone line went dead. Klaus immediately ran to the road and flagged down a taxi._

_"Mount Sinai Hospital, please." He said to the driver. "Quickly."_

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

_When he arrived at the hospital, he saw Thea laying on the hospital bed, awake. She noticed him come in as she turned her head towards him. "Hey." She croaked out. Klaus rushed to give her the water from the table beside her. Thea sipped and gave him a thankful nod._

_Klaus couldn't help himself. "W-what happened? They said they found you bleeding out, and I-I don't understand," he was tearing up and he had never felt so sober in his life. "What-what did you do?"_

_Thea looked down at her lap, and Klaus saw the bandages covering her wrists. "I-I'm sorry." She whispered out. "I'm so sorry Klaus. I-I didn't want to leave you, I promise, b-but I never saw you anymore and you didn't want to talk and I don't see any of the other anymore...nobody answers my calls a-and," Thea got more choked up. Klaus had to struggle to hear the last part of her sentence, and when he did, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. "-and I thought that maybe, maybe Ben would want to see me, h-he must be so lonely and I thought maybe w-we could be together again." Thea had tears running down her face as she looked up at Klaus. "I never wanted to hurt you." Thea sniffled before whispering with a shaking voice "Half my soul left with him that night he died. I couldn't stand the pain of losing the other half with you, too."_

_Klaus was stunned. Here his sister sat, his twin, who he had practically ignored for drugs and chasing that never-ending high, and she begged him for forgiveness for something that wasn't even her fault. Klaus had always felt worthless – it was hard not to living in a house run by someone like Reginald Hargreeves – but he'd never felt it as strongly as this moment. Klaus took a deep breath before doing something he'd never done in his life. Something that was long overdue. He took responsibility._

_He took Thea's hands and brought them up to his lips and kissed them. He sent her a loving smile and whispered out reassurances._

_Klaus Hargreeves had decided at the moment in time to be the brother that Thea deserved. The kind of brother that she could be proud of and someone she could rely on. They'd come to an agreement – albeit one that Klaus still felt guilty for to this day – and that was that Klaus would live with Thea and would give up his lifestyle of heavy drugs and intoxication. Klaus was willing to do anything for Thea, but she understood that intoxication was his only solace from the clawing hands of the dead, so she explained to him that she would happily stand by and 'fund' his habits, if only he promised to stay away from the hard drugs and dangerous life choices._

_Klaus would continue to drink and get high – only he would moderate the alcohol to a less dangerous degree and would only smoke weed from this point onwards. Both things Thea agreed to, as for as far as vices go, she understood everyone had them and Klaus' new choices were hardly imminently life-threatening._

_Klaus was with Thea, holding her hand when she got her second tattoo – the Umbrella Academy insignia being her first – of a small tentacle that wrapped around her wrist. Placed right above her scar. Thea explained it was both remembrance and an apology. A memorial to her love's powers, and an apology to that same person, as she knew deep-down that the last thing he would've wanted was for her to have met him so soon in her life._

_Klaus was with Thea through it all and for the next 3 years, they lived side by side, closer than they ever had before._

 

_ **End of flashback** _

 

 

The opening of the door brought the twins out of their heavy thoughts. Thea looked over at Luther who was carrying their Father's ashes. The rest of the Hargreeves siblings walked out after him, followed by Grace and Pogo.

Vanya, Allison, Five and Grace all held black umbrellas to shelter them from the rain. Luther and Diego had nothing, and the rain began to soak them quickly.

The siblings looked towards Klaus and Thea in sympathy. Seeing this, Thea discreetly wiped her eyes before grabbing her brother's hand and walking over to line up like the others. Klaus kept his arms around Thea, as they shared his tiny umbrella.

Luther walked to stand in the front.

"Did something happen?" Grace asked. She had a lost expression on her face.

Thea frowned in her direction. As did the others.

Allison frowned in confusion. "Dad died. Remember?"

"Oh. Yes, of course." Grace replied looking down.

Allison continued "Is Mom okay?"

Diego was first to defend her "Yeah, yeah, she's fine. She just needs to rest. Y'know, recharge." Thea raised a brow at his explanation, unsure.

Pogo walked towards them, looking at Luther. "Whenever you're ready, dear boy."

Luther took a breath before opening the urn and spilling the ashes onto the ground. Thea cringed into Klaus' chest as the ashes dropped straight into a pile on the ground.

Luther looked sheepish. "Probably would've been better with some wind..." Pogo spoke up from the awkward silence that followed, "Does anyone wish to speak?"

Another awkward silence followed Pogo's question. Thea was sure all of them had something to say in regard to Reginald Hargreeves' death, but they all seemed to agree that a memorial wasn't the time and place to speak their minds.  _Cause that's what Father taught best, didn't he? Bottling up your emotions until you're so emotionally unavailable you can't even speak your mind anymore._

Pogo shifted in the silence before continuing. "Very well. In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt."

Thea felt bad for Pogo. She understood where he came from; she couldn't imagine what it must be like to know that without Sir Hargreeves' interference, they'd just be a simple ape. She wondered if she'd feel indebted towards the man if he'd have given them their powers.  _Probably not._  She thought dryly,  _he would have only done it as an experiment to be documented anyway. Not as a favour, or as a better way of life. Just as a means to an end._

"He was my master..." Pogo continued, "and my friend, and I shall miss him very much. He leaves behind a complicated legacy-"

"He was a monster." Diego cut in. Klaus laughed at his comment. Thea felt like laughing too honestly.

"He was a bad person and a worse father. The worlds better off without him." Diego was staring down at the ashes with a blank look.

"Diego." Allison reprimanded.

Diego didn't stop, "My name is Number Two. Y'know why? Because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names." Everyone looked down at that. "He had Mom do it."

"Would anyone like something to eat?" Grace asked cluelessly.

Vanya smiled at her in pity, "No, it's okay, Mom."

"Oh, okay." She smiled.

Diego walked forward "Look, you wanna pay your respects? Go ahead. But at least be honest about the kind of man he was." He finished pointing down at the pile of ashes on the ground.

"You should stop talking now." Luther growled out.

"You know, you of all people should be on my side here, Number One." He said.

"I am warning you." Luther took a step forward.

"You still respect him despite the fact you know he never loved you." He said, "You believe he thought of you as a leader, but you know deep down that you only got that title because Thea didn't want it."

Thea gritted her teeth at that comment. The others looked confused.

"What do you mean? Luther? Thea?" Allison asked, looking to each of them. Five looked at Thea in question, whilst Vanya just looked even more lost. Luther looked down at his feet.

Diego smirked at the reaction he got, "Oh didn't you know Allison? Our dear Number One didn't get given that leader badge all on his own merit. No, no, dear Dad gave it to him after Zero here refused." Everyone was shocked at this. They turned to Thea.

"Is this true?" Allison asked in shock. Thea glared at Diego for bringing her into his little pissing contest with Luther. "I guess. Probably just made sense for 0 to come before 1, I suppose." She said carelessly. Honestly, she was sick of tip-toeing around this issue. She was Number 0, and everyone knew it. She didn't want power or the responsibility of leadership, so she refused.  _Big deal_.

"I-I never knew, I just assumed..." Allison left her sentence hanging. Everyone seemed a little taken aback by this news.

Thea shrugged, leaning further back into Klaus' hold. He already knew this about her, as did Ben. She didn't keep anything from her twin. Or her love. "Who gives a shit anyway? That was years ago. It doesn't change anything." Everyone heard the edge to her tone and knew to leave it at that. But Diego was too riled up to stop now. He turned back to Luther, ready to try another route.

"After everything he did to you, he had to ship you a million miles away." he said.

Luther was clenching his teeth, "Diego. Stop. Talking."

"That's how much he couldn't stand the sight of you!" Diego shouted, hitting Luther's chest to emphasise his point.

Luther had reached the end of his patience. He smacked Diego's hand away before swinging his fist. Diego dodged, but not before sending a punch of his own at Luther.

Vanya and Allison moved themselves and Grace backwards away from the fight. Klaus took a step back, his arms tightening around Thea. Thea automatically raised her arm in front of Five who stood beside them, protectively. Five scowled at the action but didn't move away.

"Boys. Stop this at once!" Pogo shouted. Diego and Luther ignored him, continuing to fight.

"Come on, big boy!" Diego shouted at Luther. Luther threw a heavy punch at him, but Diego was ready and ducked before hitting Luther multiple times on the back. Thea had started to block them out. She hadn't the energy to deal with their shit. Diego had already pissed her off by bringing her into their fight. The fact Luther had taken his bait just made her even madder.  _What fucking children._

She felt Five move away from beside her, muttering. She couldn't hear what he was saying, she was too deep in thought to really bother listening.  _If anything, this whole affair just summed up her family. Fucked up. Who fights at a bloody memorial service? Even if it is for the biggest dickhead alive. Pretty sure it's still classed as desecrating the dead._

Diego had moved to stand in front of Ben's statue and as Luther went to punch him, moved last second. Luther's fist hit the statue full force, sending it flying off its pedestal and smashing onto the ground. Statue Ben's head breaking clean off.

Thea felt like her chest was going to explode. Her breath was stuck in her throat and her chest was tight with horror. She felt Klaus' breathe hitch and his arm squeeze her tightly against him. She couldn't look away from the statues head, separated from its body and laying on the cold wet floor.

"And there goes Ben's statue," Allison said in disappointment. She looked over at Thea and felt her heart ache in pity.

Nobody moved after Allison's statement. Having realised what they'd done, Luther and Diego both frowned in guilt. Thea mechanically lifted her hand, removing Klaus' arm from around her. Before he could stop her, she walked slowly past her siblings towards the statue. Everyone was frozen in place, not knowing what to do or say. Thea lovingly picked up the statues head and looked down at it. Her thumb rubbed over his cheek as she imagined for just a moment that it was really Ben. Her tears fell onto his cheeks. Thea felt her chest ache again.

Luther stepped forward. "Thea, I-"

" **Stop.** " She said. Her voice was croaky as she struggled to get the word out. She cradled Ben's face before turning around and setting it down onto the podium. She turned to look at her siblings.

Her eyes were brimming with tears.

"I understand that you two have the constant need to out-do the other, and I also understand that you both lack the mental capacity to grow up and move on from your pathetic, useless arguments. What I  _don't_  understand, however, is your incessant need to ruin everything for everybody else." She cried out. Her voice cracked at certain points.

Luther and Diego looked shocked at her comment and a little hurt. Pogo wanted to stop Thea but knew that it wasn't his place. Maybe the two would finally learn to stop before things got out of hand for once. Luther took a step towards Thea but stopped as his face scrunched up in pain.

Allison was concerned and went to check on him before she felt her body freeze involuntarily. They all looked to Thea. "Don't move, Allison. I don't want to hurt you, you did nothing wrong." She said softly.

Luther's face was still showing pain, his eyebrows furrowed, and jaw clenched. Thea looked over at Diego and his face began showing the same pain. Pogo decided it was time to step in.

"My dear, I understand you're upset, but there is no need to hurt Master Luther or Diego."

Thea didn't listen to him. She narrowed her wet eyes at the two. They both dropped to the floor letting out shouts of pain, clutching their heads. She wanted them to understand what they'd done. She wasn't even putting in much effort.  _They deserve it. They deserve it. It's not fair. They always do this. They never think of anyone but themselves. They deserve to feel what their actions have done._  She continued this mantra in her head. Thea never liked hurting anyone, but at this moment in time, she was too upset to consider her morals. Luther and Diego only ever seemed to think about themselves and their carelessness often hurt more people than they realised.

"Thea, please. Please stop, you're hurting them, please-" Allison began begging. She couldn't move from her place. Neither could Pogo. Vanya didn't even attempt it. She didn't like what Thea was doing – it scared her – but she could understand where her sister was coming from. She understood that crushing loneliness and the pain that came with the reminder of how sad you really were.

Klaus watched his sister in sadness. He wanted to scream at Luther and Diego for being so reckless – even if he'd kind of been egging them on – he'd never thought they'd have broken Ben's statue. Klaus sighed. He should intervene before Thea did something she'd later regret. He knew she didn't like hurting anyone, but she was too overcome with grief to see that what she was doing wasn't right. They never use their powers on one another. Not in a negative way, at least.

He walked over to Thea and cupped her face in her hands. Her eyes were glazed over with tears. "Thea. This isn't the way. Not like this." Thea's eyes cleared a little. "You know he wouldn't want this. You  _know_  that." Klaus leant down and kissed her forehead. "Come on, let's go inside. I'll make you a hot chocolate, okay?" Thea didn't answer, but she took his hand in hers. Taking that as a yes, Klaus led Thea past their siblings and toward the door. As they passed, Luther and Diego dropped to the ground in relief. Allison ran over to Luther, now able to move. Klaus opened the door for Thea and gave her a nudge inside. Before following her in, he looked back at his family.

"I can't believe I'm saying this – being the resident disappointment and all – but, you fucked up." Klaus shook his head before going inside. "Best funeral ever." He finished sarcastically.

Allison scoffed in disappointment at the two and followed Klaus. Pogo led a clueless Grace out, Vanya following. She looked down at Luther and Diego. "You never know when to stop, do you?"

As hurt as he was, Diego didn't want to hear a lecture from  _Vanya_  of all people. "You got enough material for your sequel yet?" he snapped back. Luther stayed quiet.

Vanya stared back at him, "He was my father too. And Thea treated me better than all of you." She shook her head and left.

Diego and Luther were left standing in the rain.

 


	6. The Ties That Bind Us

 

17 years ago

 

**_"Nietzsche once said 'Man is as a rope, stretched between the animal and the superhuman. A rope over an abyss. It is a dangerous crossing, a dangerous looking-back, a dangerous trembling and haltering."_ **

 

Sir Reginald Hargreeves stood at the top of the stairs with his book in hand. Vanya stood beside him, a whistle around her neck.

Thea, Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five and Ben all stood below at the bottom of the stairs, looking up. They were wearing their training outfits; green tracksuits.

Vanya blew the whistle, and everyone began running. Luther was at the front immediately, pushing his way past Diego and Allison. Five was next, whilst Klaus, Thea and Ben hung at the back.

 

**"As much as you must strive for individual greatness, and strive you must, for it won't come to you of its own accord...you must also remember that there is no individual stronger than the collective."**

 

Diego had managed to push ahead to first place. Luther and Allison hot on his heels. Five got fed-up with his position and spatial jumped to the next set of stairs. Putting him in first place.

"That's not fair, Five's cheating!" Diego shouted.

"He adapted," Hargreeves replied.

Thea heard her fathers reply and narrowed her eyes.  _So they were allowed to cheat? That was basically permission, right? Well then, don't leave me out..._

Immediately everyone but Thea stopped moving. She grinned before running past them all. Luther, Diego and Allison let out yells of protest, whilst Five's eyes narrowed in frustration. Thea took notice of his expression and smiled smugly. "Should have spatial jumped to the finish line. Thanks for the idea, by the way." She continued running. Once she'd passed Five, and subsequently secured first place, she looked back at the others before smirking. They heard sounds of surprise as both Klaus and Ben were able to move again. Thea looked back at them both, "You gonna move, or what?"

They both looked at her in surprise and began to run again. Thea ran all the way to the top. She turned towards Vanya and grinned. "Did I win?" Vanya nodded, grinning back at her. Thea looked to Hargreeves for his reaction. There was a glint of amusement in his normally stoic, cold eyes.

Thea heard footsteps behind her. Klaus and Ben had both made it to the top, placing second and third respectively. Thea grinned before releasing the others. She heard panting and grumbling. Five spatial jumped to the top with a glare on his face. Thea just smirked back. The other three made it to the top, panting and out of breath.

"So not fair..." Diego muttered.

Thea just shrugged without remorse. "How was I to know we could use our powers? Thank Five for the idea." Five's glare narrowed.

"Indeed, Number Zero. Though may I inquire as to why exactly you let Number Four and Six free also?" Hargreeves asked.

Thea had a sheepish look on her face. She had no real reason. "Practice?"

"And the fact that it just so happened to be those two in particular?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Thea's eyes sparkled mischievously.

"I must just have great luck."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

**_"The ties that bind you together, make you stronger than you are alone."_ **

 

Thea's eyes narrowed at the tattooist as he worked on Klaus. Allison and Luther stood behind her, having had their tattoos done already. Thea could see them holding hands behind their backs, comforting one another. Allison was crying.

Klaus let out another whimper and Thea's glare got harder. The tattooist was uncomfortable with the girl's stare. It was intimidating for such a small child.

Finally, it was done, and Klaus gave Thea a look.  _It's okay._ It said.  _I'll be fine, go wait with the others._  She squeezed his hand and walked over to Five and Six. Diego was now in the chair. Grace went to grab his hand to comfort him, but Diego pulled his hand away.

 

**_"They will make you impervious to the pain and hardship the world will thrust upon you."_ **

 

Five was frowning while watching Diego squirm and Ben was shaking in fear. Thea glanced over to Hargreeves. She saw he wasn't watching and took Ben's hand in her own. She gave it a squeeze and held on. She did the same to Five. She felt Ben's shaking slow down and Five squeezed back in thanks.

 

**_"And believe me when I tell you, life will be hard. It will be painful."_ **

 

Vanya watched the others getting their tattoos. She was left out. Again. She wasn't sure whether to be thankful or not, seeing their pain. Vanya wanted to be a part of the team. She wanted to be included, for once. She took out a pen and began to draw the umbrella insignia onto her wrist.

 

**_"We can accomplish anything when we accept responsibility together. This is what creates trust. Together, you will stand against the rein of evil."_ **

 

_ End of flashback _

 

 

Thea was sat in the kitchen. Her head lay on Klaus' lap and her feet propped up on a chair. She had headphones on with a faraway look on her face. Klaus' hands were running through her hair to calm her. Klaus watched Five rummage around the kitchen.

Allison walked in, "Where's Vanya?"

"Oh, she's gone," Klaus replied.

"That's unfortunate," Five began.

"Yeah." Allison agreed. Thinking he was speaking of Vanya.

"-an entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms but no, not a single drop of coffee." He finished.

Alison shrugged, "Dad hated coffee." 

Klaus chuckled "Well he hated children, too, and he had plenty of us." Allison and Five cringed at his comment knowing he spoke the truth. Five's gaze lingered on Thea. She didn't acknowledge any of them. Her gaze was on the far wall, distant.

Five turned away. "I'm taking the car."

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked.

Five glared "To get a decent cup of coffee."

"Do you even know how to drive?" Allison asked sceptically.

"I know how to do everything." Five replied, annoyed. His gaze narrowed, and he glanced at Thea again before spatial jumping away. They could hear the car starting from outside. "I feel like we should try and stop him, but then again, I also just kinda want to see what happens," Klaus said.

Diego walked into the kitchen, his bag slung over his shoulder. "All right, I guess I'll see you guys in, what, ten years? When Pogo dies?"

"Not if you die first." Allison snarked back.

"Yeah, love you too sis. Good luck on your next film. Let's hope it turns out better than your marriage, huh?" He picked up some food from the table.

Allison gave him a glare before looking at Thea. Diego followed her gaze. Klaus could feel the tension and tapped Thea on her shoulder. Thea turned to look at the three, not realising anyone else was in the kitchen. "Where's Five?" she asked.

"He's gone somewhere to get coffee," Allison replied. Her eyes softened, "Hey Thea, want to come upstairs with me? Have some girl bonding like old times?"

Thea looked at her sister and could see her hopeful expression. She hummed. "Okay. That sounds pretty good right now." She jumped off Klaus' lap, giving his head a kiss.

Thea followed Allison out the kitchen. She could hear Klaus behind her with Diego. "A-are we leaving?"

"No. I'm leaving, me by myself."

"Oh, fabulous! I'll get my things." Klaus declared.

Thea huffed amused. She followed after Allison, up the stairs.  _Don't just invite yourself places, Klausy._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A smaller chapter, however, this is the end of episode one! Next chapter will begin following chapter two. We can look forward to Five and Thea's heart-to-heart, that cool flashback scene of Five time travelling and some more sibling bonding. 
> 
> :)


	7. Saying Sorry

 

The bell signalling dinner chimed throughout the house. All the Hargreeves children made their way into the dining area in a single file. They all stood at their designated seating arrangement. Sir Hargreeves sat at the top of the table, with Vanya on the opposite end. Next to Hargreeves on his left was Allison, Klaus, Thea and Ben. On his right sat Luther, Diego and Five. Hargreeves walked in and stood behind his seat, before announcing "Sit."

The children all sat and began their meal. Thea turned to whisper to Allison and saw her stealing glances with Luther who sat across from her. Thea smiled to herself. They made it so obvious that she was honestly surprised their Father hadn't noticed yet.  _Though maybe he had...as long as it didn't compromise missions maybe he didn't care._

Sat on her left was Klaus. Thea had wanted to sit by Ben, but she'd already had to wrangle her way into her current position - as she and Luther should have been sat directly next to Hargreeves as No.0 and No.1 respectively. Thea looked to her twin and sniggered to herself when she saw him discreetly rolling a joint underneath the table. Thea looked past him to see Ben trying to read his book and eat at the same time. She smiled fondly.  _What a dork._

Thea began eating her food when a bang startled her. Five had stabbed a knife into the table while glaring at their Father. Thea raised a brow.

"Number Five?" Hargreeves asked.

"I have a question," Five replied sarcastically.

"Knowledge is an admiral goal, but you know the rules. No talking during mealtimes. You are interrupting Herr Carlson."

Thea didn't understand what Five was doing. He wasn't one to follow the rules, per se, but he'd never directly spoken out like this before. She debated looking into his mind for her answers.  _Fuck it._  Thea focused on Five, trying to be subtle with what she was doing. When she saw what he was planning to ask, she let out a small gasp. Everyone at the table looked at Thea as she looked at Five shocked. Five's gaze narrowed.

Hargreeves looked at Thea. "What is it, Number Zero?"

Thea went to answer him when Five cut across, "I want to time-travel."

"No." Hargreeves dismissed immediately.

"But I'm ready." Five persisted. "I've been practising my spatial jumps, just like you said. Five stood up and jumped next to Hargreeves. "See?"

Everyone at the table looked uneasy. They felt awkward at the change in routine and were unsure of what was going to happen next.

"A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time-travel," Hargreeves said as he continued eating his meal. "One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn."

Five's jaw clenched. "Well, I don't get it."

Hargreeves lifted his glass, "Hence the reason you're not ready."

Thea had given up on her meal at this point. She was too busy listening to what was going on. Everybody else tried continuing on as though nothing was happening. Vanya was the only one other than Thea paying attention. She shook her head at Five, telling him to stop.

"I'm not afraid." Five declared.

"Fear isn't the issue," Hargreeves replied. "The effects it might have on your body, even on your mind, are far too unpredictable." Thea agreed. She may not like the old bastard, but nobody could deny he knew what he was talking about. That didn't mean he had to be so dismissive, but even she understood that Five wanting to time-travel at such a young age couldn't end well.

"Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore," Hargreeves demanded. Five scowled and turned away. He began walking out of the room. "Number Five! You haven't been excused!"

Five was determined as he stormed across the room. Everyone on the table looked on. Five had made it almost out of the dining room before suddenly stopping. His jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. He turned his head to glare at Thea. "Stop it."

Sir Hargreeves and her siblings turned to Thea in shock. Thea stared straight back at Five with a steely glint in her eyes. "Don't do anything rash. Just stay and you can try time-travelling in a few years." She tried reasoning with him. Everybody now understood what was happening. Thea had decided to control Five into stopping before he could leave.

Five's eyes narrowed further. "Get. Out. My. Head."

Thea's face was sympathetic. "I'm sorry, I don't want to do this but you're being too rash. I just don't want you getting hurt." She didn't want him to hate her for what she was doing, but she knew if he decided to go against their Father's words and time-travel, he was bound to get hurt. If not punished for disobeying. "Please, Five."

"Zero, stop." Five said between clenched teeth.

Thea's eyes narrowed in concentration. " **Sit down**." She ordered, her voice slightly deeper.

To everyone's shock, Five began to turn around and walk mechanically to the table. But they knew it wasn't of his own will as his eyes burned in anger. Just as he was about to reach his seat, he narrowed his gaze at Thea. He sent her a wave of anger and hatred through his mind, knowing it would affect her. Just as he expected, Thea's eyes widened in shock and hurt - her eyes beginning to fill with tears - and her concentration slipped. Five took this chance and spatial jumped away outside.

Sir Hargreeves look at Thea in consideration. She hadn't managed to successfully control someone like that before, only heavily influence their actions and see into their minds. Thea sat in shock. She had felt so much anger and resentment coming from Five that she hadn't been able to keep a strong grip on his mind. Thea knew everyone was looking at her and she looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"And what would that apology be for exactly, Number Zero?" Hargreeves enquired.

"I wasn't able to stop him. I shouldn't have even tried..." Thea felt ashamed and lost.

Hargreeves took one last look at Thea before continuing to eat his meal. The others awkwardly followed suit. Thea felt Klaus' hand hold hers underneath the table. "It wasn't your fault," he whispered. Thea knew that, but she couldn't help thinking she should have been able to stop him.  _Although it probably wasn't my place...I just hope he gets back okay. I'll apologise when he does._

Of course, none of them could have known that Five would be gone for the next 16 years, 4 months and 14 days.

 

_ End of Flashback _

 

 

Thea woke up feeling comfier than she had in years. Blinking open her eyes, she saw her sister standing at the end of the bed. Thea was confused at where she was until she remembered last nights events. The memorial. Luther and Diego's fight. Ben's statue. Her losing control. Thea felt like groaning in embarrassment. Why did she have to lose control like that? She felt guilty,  _I hurt my own brothers. Even if they deserved it, I had no right to use my powers on them like that._ Thea was determined to find them and apologise. Hopefully, they'd understand and forgive her.

"Finally awake, sleepy-head?" Allison asked in amusement.

Thea blinked another few times. She sat up and stretched.  _God Allison, whatever you use as a mattress works wonders. I haven't felt this relaxed waking up in years._ Thea gave Allison a small smile. "Yeah, yeah. I'm up." She looked at the suitcase Allison was packing, "Where you off to?"

Allison opened her mouth to reply but knocking interrupted her. They looked toward the door to see Luther with his hand still raised awkwardly. Thea got up and stretched again. "Well, I don't know about you, but I need coffee. I'll leave you guys to it." Thea looked toward Allison, "and thanks for last night. I really needed it." Allison gave Thea a loving smile, "Me too."

Thea walked out of the room but was stopped by Luther. He looked around awkwardly, "Um, Thea, can we, uh- can we talk?"

Thea raised a brow and shrugged. "Sure."

Luther looked at Allison and she waved them off, carrying on packing. Luther and Thea stepped into the hallway. Before he could talk, Thea decided to start on that apology she'd promised.

"Look, Luther, about yesterday..." she started.

"I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." They both said at once. Their eyebrows rose in shock before they let out a laugh.

Thea shook her head and tried again. "I'm sorry for using my powers on you and Diego. It was wrong of me and I'm not proud of letting my emotions get the better of me. I feel terrible for hurting you both and I'd understand if you didn't want to forgive me." Thea looked down in guilt. "I'm sorry."

Luther looked at his sister. Despite them being the same age, he saw her as the little sister he had to care for. Allison was never a sister to him, and he hadn't spent enough time with Vanya to develop a deep relationship. Thea however, she'd been his sister from the beginning, and despite her being a powerful woman in her own right, he felt protective of her. It didn't help that compared to him she was tiny. Luther took a step closer and wrapped his huge arms around her tiny frame. Thea was shocked but wrapped her arms around him too. They hardly reached his back.

"It's okay," Luther started. "I know you didn't mean what you did and even though your words hurt, I can understand why you said them." He pulled back and looked at her face. "I'm sorry for letting my emotions get the better of me too. It was wrong of me to be careless and I'll help fix Ben's statue as soon as possible." Thea smiled at that.  _He has his faults, but at the end of the day he's my brother and I love him despite those faults._  Thea smiled up at Luther, "Thanks Luth."

She took a step back and smiled mischievously, "I'll let you get back to Allison. Just remember to put on the charm, yeah?" she winked.

Luther spluttered in denial. Thea just grinned and walked away, waving. "Go get 'em!"

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

With Zero coffee in the house, Thea decided to make do with tea.  _It could do with something stronger...maybe I could raid Dad's stash._ With that in mind, Thea made her way to the living room for her Father's bar. She heard rummaging inside and her brother's voice. "-can't smoke eggs."

Thea decided to pipe in, "You can certainly try." Klaus span around to look at Thea in shock. He was only wearing a tiny pair of underwear. She raised a brow. "What on earth are you wearing? Or rather not wearing?" Thea went over to the bar to make her drink a little stronger before walking over and sitting on the sofa. She let out a sigh. Thea noticed the silence and looked up at her brother. "What?"

Klaus was looking between his sister and where only he could see Ben sat across from her. Thea narrowed her eyes at him. "What's up with you? Why so shifty?"

Klaus took another look at Ben, who was just staring at Thea fondly. Klaus wanted to tell his sister about Ben's presence but they'd both agreed she wasn't really in the right frame of mind for that kind of shock yet. Klaus had only been able to see Ben since Thea had got him clean - well, clean enough - and at that point, she'd already suffered a mental breakdown. Klaus had secretly told Ben of what had happened when he'd saw Thea's injuries and it wasn't difficult for the two to be discreet whenever they interacted. Klaus just thought Ben was happy either way as now Klaus was around Thea again, he could see her more too.

Thea cleared her throat. Klaus jumped in surprise. "Huh?"

She gave him an unimpressed look. "I said, who're you talking to, buddy?"

Klaus just shrugged, acting natural. "Ah, you know, the usual. Vengeful spirit seeking revenge." He pulled a dramatic scary pose. Thea snorted.

A throat clearing scared them both. Thea jumped in her seat while Klaus exclaimed, "Christ on a cracker! Pogo?"

Pogo stood in the entryway. "My apologies, Miss Thea. Master Klaus, I have a query for you."

"Oh?"

"Items from your Father's office have gone missing. In particular, an ornate box with pearl inlay." Pogo said.

Thea turned to Klaus in mild amusement.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really?" Ben said.

Klaus shook his head at their synchronicity and looked at Pogo. "Really, you don't say..."

"Any idea where it went?" Pogo asked, staring at Klaus.

Klaus had a false innocent look on his face. "No, no, no. No idea." He sighed, "Sorry."

Thea snorted. "Liar," she mumbled under her breath.

"Liar." Ben drawled.

Klaus shook off their freaky in-sync talking. "Drop dead." He whispered. Thea raised her eyebrow in confusion. She wasn't sure if he meant her or Pogo.

Klaus saw Thea's expression as Ben turned to him, "Low blow."

"Would you shut up!" Klaus whispered frustrated. Thea huffed in amusement, realising he must be distracted by some ghost he could see.

Pogo was taken aback, "Excuse me?"

Klaus tried to defend himself as Pogo carried on. "The contents of that box are priceless. Were they to find their way back to the office, whoever took it would be absolved of any blame or consequences."

"Oh, well, lucky bastard."

Pogo clicked his tongue, unimpressed. "Indeed." He gave Klaus a long look and walked out.

Klaus stood staring at where Pogo just was for a few minutes. "What'd you do with it?" she asked.

He turned to her with an eyebrow raised. "With what?"

Thea gave him an unimpressed look. "Don't try and fool me, Klaus. I'm your twin. I know all your tells." She stated. "Plus I've always been the better liar of the two of us, so spill."

Klaus gave a dramatic sigh before laying on the sofa. He lay his head on her lap and took a drag of his joint. "Pawned it. Yesterday whilst you were sleeping."

"And why exactly did you do that?"

"Extra cash."

"Why do you even need extra cash? I buy everything for you as it is." Thea replied indignantly.

Klaus gave a small shrug. "You won't have to spend it on me if I have my own," he mumbled. Thea's frown softened, and she sighed. "You're going to steal off of the wrong person one day, Klausy. Besides, you know I don't mind buying you stuff."

Klaus nodded but wasn't persuaded. He knew just how much of a free-loader he was on his sister. It made him feel bad, but he just couldn't hold down a job to help out. He took another drag before offering it to Thea. She smiled in thanks and took a long drag. She sighed in contentment.

Klaus could see Ben's unimpressed stare at the two and hissed, forgetting Thea could hear him. She opened her eyes and looked toward where Ben sat. Klaus knew she couldn't see anything. "What, does Mr-Revenge-ghost over there disapprove of us smoking?" she asked sarcastically.

Klaus huffed in amusement at Ben's affronted expression. "Yeah, apparently. Buzzkill." He replied, smirking.

Thea laughed out loud. "Well, the next time Mr Buzzkill has to babysit you and deal with everyone else in this house without their morning cup of coffee maybe he'll want a smoke too." She took another drag.

Klaus laughed at her comment. He pretended to pout, "I don't need babysitting. I do just fine."

Thea laughed, "Oh trust me, babysitting you is a 24/7 job."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea honestly didn't know how she got herself into these kinds of situations.

She was sat on Klaus' lap, her legs tucked into her chest, squished inside a tiny wardrobe. Klaus tried moving and Thea smacked him to stay still. She could hear Vanya and Five talking from outside. Vanya's footsteps drifted down the stairs and Klaus threw open the doors of the wardrobe. Thea yelped as she caught herself before falling onto the floor. She gave Klaus a glare. He didn't notice.

"That's so touching...all that stuff about family and Dad and time. Wow!" he exclaimed.

"Would you shut up? She'll hear you." Five said angrily.

"I'm moist!"

Thea gave Klaus a disgusted look. "Ew."

Five frowned at Klaus' outfit choice, "I thought I told you to put on something professional."

Klaus was confused. Thea snorted at his choice. It was a frilly blouse that made him look more like a pirate that'd ransacked an old woman's closet than anything resembling professional. "What? This is my nicest outfit."

Five was annoyed. He pointed at Thea. "No.  _That_  is professional.  _You_  look ridiculous." Thea was wearing long, stylish suit pants she'd stolen from Allison and a sheer, smart blouse she'd gotten from Grace. Luckily, she was able to keep her own pumps on as Allison was so tall the pants covered her feet.  _No heels for me. Nope._

Five sighed in exasperation and turned to leave. "We'll raid the old man's closet." Thea and Klaus followed.

"Whatever, as long as I get paid."

"When the job is done."

Thea rolled her eyes at Klaus' naivety. Did he really think Five was going to pay him?  _You're so easily distracted by money._

"Okay, but just so we're clear on the finer details, I've just gotta go into this place and pretend to be your dear old Dad, correct?" Klaus asked. Five turned to him annoyed. "Yeah, something like that."

"What's our cover story?" he asked.

Thea gave him a look. "That's good enough isn't it?"

Klaus shook his head, "No, no. I mean, was I really young when I had you? Like, 16? Like, young and terribly misguided."

Five and Thea shared a look. She shrugged. Five sighed, "Sure."

Klaus continued, "Your mother, that  _slut_." Thea let out a surprised laugh. "Whoever she was. We met at...the disco. Remember that." He groaned dramatically, "Oh my god, the sex was  _amaaaazing_."

Thea gave her brother another disgusted look. "Really, Klaus? Too much information."

Five agreed. "What a disturbing glimpse into that thing you call a brain," he said. Five walked down the stairs. Thea laughed and followed him. She shouted over her shoulder, "I'm still questioning whether I absorbed all the brain cells whilst in the womb and left none for him, honestly."

Klaus shouted affronted, "Hey! Don't make me put you both in time-out."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing the Luther and Thea scene because not many stories include Allison and Luther in a more profound way with OC characters. I can understand why, they're sometimes overshadowed by the other characters, but they're both important to the family dynamic.


	8. Heart to Heart

 

Thea and Klaus were sat side by side in a white pristine office. Five stood leaning on the desk of the man they'd come to see. He had a scowl on his face as the doctor droned on.

"As I said to your son earlier, any information about the prosthetics we build is strictly confidential. Without the client's consent, I simply can't help you."

"Well, we can't get consent if you don't give us a name." Five replied annoyed.

"Well, that's not my problem." The doctor shrugged in mock sympathy.

Thea stopped listening. She was honestly a little bored. They'd been back and forth with the man for the last 20 minutes and they were getting nowhere. Thea looked towards Klaus. He had a thoughtful look on his face and he turned towards her before winking. Thea raised a brow.  _What on earth is he up to?_

"And what about  _my_  consent?" Klaus spoke. The doctor was confused, "Excuse me?"

Klaus continued, "Who gave you permission, to lay your hands...on my son?" he pretended to tear up. Thea's eyes lit up in amusement. S _o this is your game, Klausy? I see where you're going...let's get this show rolling._

Thea stood up and walked over to Five. She grabbed him by the shoulders and began tearing up dramatically. "I'm so sorry this man touched you." She gave the doctor a sour look.

The doctor and Five gave the twins odd looks. "What?"

Klaus was glad his sister could keep up. He pointed at Five and stared at the doctor, "Oh, you heard me."

"I didn't touch your son..." the doctor replied nervously.

"Oh really?" Klaus asked, "Then how did he get that swollen lip, then?"

Thea lent down to Five's ear and whispered, "Go with it, it'll only hurt for a minute." Five turned to question her when Klaus turned and punched him in the face. Five touched his bleeding lip and glared at Klaus. Thea squeezed his shoulders in apology.

Klaus turned back to the doctor. "I want it. Name, please. Now."

The doctor stared at him incredulously. "You're crazy."

Klaus gave a humourless chucked, "You got no idea." He looked down at the snow globe sat on the desk. "'Peace on earth' that's so sweet." He then smashed it against his head, glass shards flying everywhere. Thea cringed at the blood running down his forehead.  _As soon as we get back he'll need that checked out._  She glanced over at Five,  _him too._

"God that hurt!" Klaus exclaimed.

Thea saw the doctor pick up the phone to call security. " **Don't** ," she said. The man's arm froze mid-air and his eyes widened. Klaus grabbed it from him before shouting down the phone for help. He looked back at the doctor. "Now, here's what's gonna happen, Grant."

"I-it's Lance."

Klaus ignored him, "In about 60 seconds, two security guards are gonna burst through that door and they're gonna see a whole lot of blood, and they're gonna wonder 'What the hell happened?'" Five finally caught on to his plan and gave the man a smug smirk.

"and we're gonna tell them that you...beat the shit out of us." Klaus sobbed dramatically before standing up straight and smiling sarcastically. "You're gonna do great in prison, Grant."

"Trust him, he's been there." Thea chimed in.

"Little piece of chicken like you. Oh, my god, you're gonna get passed around like a..." he moved his hips in circles trying to find the right word.

"Little Bitch?" Thea helped. Klaus nodded and pointed at her.

"Yeah, yeah. You're just- you're gonna do great. That's all I'm saying."

The doctor looked at Klaus in disbelief. "Jesus, you are a real sick bastard."

"Thank you," Klaus said seriously. Thea struggled to keep her laughter in at his dramatics.

The three of them followed the doctor as he looked through his files. He frowned, "Huh, that's strange."

"What?" Five asked impatiently.

"Well, the eye. It's just, it hasn't been purchased by a client yet." He frowned at the file in his hands, "This can't be right, it says that it hasn't even been manufactured yet." He looked up at them suspiciously, "Where did you get that eye?"

Thea realised it was time to go and so took hold of Five's shoulders and led him out the room. "C'mon Klaus, time to go." She took one last look at the doctor, " **Don't move until we leave this building. Don't tell anyone what happened**." With that, she walked out the door.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

"Well, this is not good." Five muttered.

"I was pretty good though, right?" Klaus asked, "Yeah, 'What about  _my_  consent, bitch?'" he laughed at his own joke. Five wasn't amused.

"Klaus it doesn't matter."

Thea look at Five, he looked stressed and she was worried about him. She put a hand on his shoulder, "What's important about this eye? You never said."

"There's someone out there who's going to lose an eye in the next seven days. They're gonna bring about the end of life on this earth as we know it." Five said seriously. Thea was shocked. She knew Five wasn't one for messing around, so she immediately believed what he was saying.  _What the hell did he see whilst he was gone?_

Thea opened her mouth to ask more but Klaus beat her to it. "Yeah, can I get that 20 bucks, like, now, or what?"

Thea and Five both whipped around to stare at him incredulously. "Klaus, he literally just told us the world is going to end!" she exclaimed. Five gave her a shocked glance. He was surprised she'd believed him so quickly.

Five glared at Klaus, "The apocalypse is coming and all you can think about is getting high?"

Klaus gave a dismissive shrug, "Well, I'm also quite hungry. Tummy's a-rumblin'." He jokingly imitated his stomach rumbling. Thea rolled her eyes. She loved Klaus, she really did, but if there was any time to be serious, it was now.

"You're useless," Five muttered. "You're all useless." He walked to sit on the steps and Thea followed him. She sat beside him.

"Is that the thanks I get for helping you out - no questions asked, by the way - and taking you seriously, being called useless?" she asked. Five gave her a sideways glance. "I didn't mean you." He sighed, "I'm just sick of nobody else taking this seriously."

She put her hand on his knee, "I'm am. If you believe it to be serious, then I do too."

Five gave her a grateful look. Klaus interrupted the moment. "I've just now realised why you're so uptight." He walked over to them both, "You must be horny as hell."

Thea scrunched her nose in disgust. "Klaus, what the hell. I don't want to think of that."

Klaus ignored her, "All those years by yourself. It's gotta screw with your head, being alone."

Thea felt awful for her brother, being alone for such a long time.  _He must have been so scared. Oh, Five._  Thea began to tear up just thinking about it.

"Well, I wasn't alone." Five said quietly.

Thea was shocked at this, but then she remembered him mentioning someone when he'd first come back. "Delores?" she asked.

Five was surprised she'd remembered. Thea gave him a fond smile, "I'd just gotten my brother back after almost 17 years. Do you really think I'd of missed a single word of what you had to say, hm?"

Five felt bad for thinking Thea would've been just as dismissive as the rest of his siblings. He'd already tried speaking to Vanya about the apocalypse, but that'd been because he felt she could give neutral advice - being ordinary. However the more he thought about it, Thea had been the one to always listen to anyone's problems, no matter how silly they were. 'If it's a problem to you, then it can't ever be considered silly. Not to me, _'_ she always used to say when they were kids. God, he'd missed her. Five hadn't felt comfortable with including Thea in his plans, mostly because of how he'd left things with her when he'd disappeared. He'd been foolish and reckless just like she'd warned him. But he hadn't listened. And he'd hurt her in the process. Five could still remember Thea's heartbroken expression as he'd broken out of her control.

Five sighed. "We were together for over 30 years."

Klaus let out a chuckle, "30 years? Oh wow!" he sighed, "God, the longest I've been with someone was...I don't know, three weeks. And that's only because I was so tired of looking for a place to sleep-"

Thea ignored Klaus and looked at Five. She could tell he was annoyed at Klaus' rambling and she could bet he would spatial jump away any minute.

She tapped him on the shoulder and leant down to his ear. "Before you jump away and leave me here with this idiot, can we talk later?" Five gave her a questioning look. Thea sighed, "If the world really is ending, I don't want us to have not sorted things out." She gave him a loving smile, "I know you're an old man now, but I really love you, y'know? I missed you so much. Just save some time for me later, please?"

Five felt choked up at Thea's declaration. He blinked a few times before squeezing her hand, "Sure. We can talk later on, in my room." He paused before glancing at Thea, "and I love you too, Z." Five then spatial jumped away.

Thea smiled brightly at Five's words. She turned to see Klaus still rambling on about someone making great  _osso buco_. Thea laughed in amusement, "Klaus, he's gone."

Klaus turned around to see Thea sat there alone. A taxi drove past with Five in the back. He gave Klaus a mock salute as it drove away. Klaus jumped to his feet. "Hey, hey, hey. What about my money?" he shouted.

Thea laughed harder and jumped up to her feet, stretching out all the kinks in her back from sitting on the cold stone steps. "Forget it, Klaus. You should have known he wouldn't have given you any anyway." Klaus pouted. Thea linked her arm in his and began walking him down the street. "C'mon. there's a nice café not too far off that does lovely waffles and ice-cream. How's that sound?"

Klaus grinned at her childishly. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."

Thea gave him a mock incredulous look, "Oh, and it's not the fact that I'm literally your twin, your other half?" Klaus playfully pushed her, and Thea pushed him back. They both walked down the street laughing, arm in arm.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea was sat on Five's bed, reading one of his many collections of books when said boy came tumbling into the room. She jumped off the bed at his arrival and gasped when she saw the state he was in. His uniform was ripped in places and he had blood on his arm. He clutched a black duffle bag tightly.

"Five! What happened?" she ran her hands over his shoulders and cupped his face. He had tears in his eyes and Thea instantly softened. She stroked his cheek and wiped away the tears that ran down. "Hey, Five, please look at me." Her voice was soft. "Let me help you, please."

Five looked up at Thea and gave a small nod. She immediately ran to the bathroom to grab the emergency medical kit. As she began wiping his wound clean, she saw him looking forlornly at the duffle bag. Thea finished cleaning his wound and walked over to the bag. She could see a mannequin stuffed inside and frowned in confusion. Five saw her look and spoke quietly, "That's Delores."

Thea's chest felt tight.  _Oh, Five._ She looked down at the mannequin, her mind spinning with this new information.  _Of course, Delores wasn't a real human. He did say he was the last one on earth, after all._ Thea took a deep breath before unzipping the bag and picking the mannequin up carefully. Five watched on from where he sat.

Thea sat Delores onto Five's bed and then began delicately wiping the mannequin down with an antibacterial wipe, cleaning off all the soot and dirt. Once her throat felt less clogged with emotion, Thea spoke up, "She's very pretty, Five. I can see why you like her."

Five smiled at his sister's comment. He knew deep down exactly what Delores was - or wasn't - but it didn't change the fact that she'd been his only companion for 30 years. He wasn't sure what the others would think if they saw Delores, though he could guess they'd probably believe he'd gone insane.  _But not Thea. 'If it's a problem to you, then it can't ever be considered silly. Not to me._ ' He repeated his sister's words in his head and smiled. Thea definitely lived up to her words. Five could tell she was initially shocked at what Delores was, but he was grateful she'd taken him seriously and been so loving towards them both.

Thea finished wiping the mannequin down and smiled.  _Even if she's not real, I'm still thankful she was there._ "Well, Delores. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm surprised anybody can put up with our little Five over there for such a long time." She winked at the boy. "But I'm very thankful that he had you to take care of him, even when we couldn't."

Five walked over and sat next to Thea on the bed. "Thank you. For taking this seriously, all of it. The eye and the apocalypse stuff," he looked next to him, "and Delores."

Thea gave him a loving smile, "Of course I do. You're my brother. Your problems are my problems."

Five laughed at that, "You haven't changed much, Z." Thea grinned at him, "So, tell me about this apocalypse that's coming. What can we do to stop it?"

Five shook his head, "That's the thing. You already tried. All of you did." At Thea's curious look he explained further. "When I was walking around trying to find out what happened, I came across a hand holding an eye. I didn't recognise who it was at first, but it was Luther."

Thea pulled a thoughtful face, "So that's why you wanted to know what the deal with the eye was?"

Five nodded. "I figured he had it for a reason, and so I wanted to figure out who it belonged to. They must be responsible if Luther had it clutched so tightly before he died," He explained.

Thea hummed in agreement, "and so what about the rest of us? Were we there too? You said we  _all_  died, right?"

Five nodded again, "Yeah. I saw you all, underneath the rubble..."

 

_Five plucked the eyeball out of what he could only assume was an older version of Luther's hands. It was covered in blood and dirt. He looked around and saw the familiar curly hair of Allison. Diego lay flat beside her, both were covered in bricks and rubble. Five began to panic. If three of his siblings were dead, then that meant..._

_Five ran around the corner of a pile of rubble, his eyes frantically searching for others. The first thing he saw was a lanky man, his face squished against a pile of bricks and his arm stretched out. Five could see the infamous Umbrella Academy tattoo on his forearm. His eyes began tearing up at the confirmation that these were all his siblings, now grown up. With his heart in his stomach, Five moved closer to Klaus, afraid at what he'd find. Laying there, almost underneath Klaus was a small woman. Five would recognise that pale blonde hair anywhere and he couldn't stop the sob that left his lips. She lay almost protectively under her twin - as though in the final moments he'd tried shielding her from the danger._

_Five kneeled beside the now older Thea and let his tears fall. He'd been feeling guilty since he got to this world for how he'd left things between them, and now seeing her - lifeless and so cold - he couldn't handle it. Five grabbed a hold of her hand and brought it up to his cheek. Thea used to do this all the time to him and the others. She'd cradle their faces and ask what was wrong - knowing they couldn't lie when looking at her eyes filled with concern. Five looked at Thea now, and her usual loving gaze was flat and dull. Her eyes were glazed over and distant in death, and he let out another sob._

_Five looked around him and could only think that he'd never felt so scared._

 

_ End of flashback _

 

Thea sat stunned. She'd listened to Five's tale of finding them dead and she felt so much sadness and pity for the poor boy. Five was shaken from his heavy thoughts when Thea gave him a crushing hug. Her hand went to his head and she began to run her fingers through his hair in a calming motion. Five still felt uncomfortable with human contact after having not had any for so long, but he knew Thea needed this.  _He_ needed this.

"God, Five. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. And alone...my god I can't even imagine-" she let out a sob. Five rubbed her back, "It's alright, I'm here now and I plan on stopping it ever happening."

Thea rubbed her tear-filled eyes and gave him a determined look, "I'll help you. Anything you need, you can count on me. You don't have to do this alone anymore. I'm here for you, whether that be till we fix this," Thea lovingly kissed his forehead, "or till the very end."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing the first half of this was fun because it's one of the best scenes in the show. However, the second half was quite difficult because it's all an original scene and it had to tackle a few things at once. But I'm happy with it and our two little numbers got their heart to heart.   
> Five and Zero are adorable.


	9. Family Trouble

She woke up to the sound of a crash. Thea rubbed her eyes and looked around for Five. She'd fallen asleep in his room after last night's emotional talk. The room was empty of both her brother and Delores. She frowned in concern but shrugged, assuming he must have had something urgent to do. She could hear shouting outside.

_"I love you! Even if you can't love yourself!"_

Klaus? Thea was confused, what was her brother doing outside? She decided to take a look, ignoring that she wasn't yet dressed. She climbed out of Five's window and onto the fire escape. Looking down she could see her brother inside a dumpster holding a half-eaten bagel.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked trying not to laugh.

Klaus jumped in surprise and looked up at where Thea stood slightly above them both. She had an eyebrow raised in amusement. Klaus discreetly glanced to his left at Ben, who sat on the side of the dumpster looking up. Klaus grinned at Thea. "Hey sis! What's up?"

Thea laughed, "What are you doing in the rubbish?"

Klaus scratched his head, "Uh, dumpster diving?"

"And why exactly would you need to dumpster dive for? As I've said, for what must be the millionth time, I buy you everything already!" she exclaimed, exasperated.

Klaus looked away and pouted, "Fine. I'm trying to find whatever  _priceless_  crap was in that box I took."

"Maybe it's already been taken away with the rest of the trash?" she asked.

Klaus groaned dramatically. Thea laughed and jumped down from the fire escape, landing on the side of the bin. She sat beside Ben - something Klaus wanted to laugh at - without realising.

Klaus looked at Thea to see she was still in her pyjamas. He gave her an odd look. Thea frowned, "What?"

"Why are you still in pyjamas?" he looked up at where she came from, remembering Five jumping down there only minutes before. "And were you in Five's room?"

Thea was confused, "Yeah? Why what's wrong with that?" she looked down at her attire and turned slightly pink. "Oh. I guess I forgot. I should have probably put on a jacket..." Klaus thought so too. She was only wearing silk pyjama shorts and an oversized shirt that Klaus was sure used to belong to Ben. It was clearly too big for her petite frame and was slipping off her shoulders.

Ben looked at her like Christmas had come early. Klaus rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Why were you in Five's room?" he asked impatiently.

"Why, you jealous?" Thea snarked back. Klaus huffed. Thea shook her head, "I wanted to talk to him about some stuff, you know, with how we left things before he disappeared..." she looked down, "I just didn't want him to hate me. I missed him so much." She teared up.

Klaus' expression softened. When they were younger, he often couldn't help but be jealous of her and Five's relationship. Thea and Ben were close, sure, but their relationship was different, Klaus knew were he stood with them. Ben couldn't replace him because their bond was romantic. Her relationship with Luther and Diego was never as close as with him, and with Allison and Vanya, it was different. They were her sisters. But with Five...Thea and Five had a close brother/sister relationship, and unlike with Ben, there were no romantic feelings to separate their bond from his own with Thea. Klaus could admit to himself - deep, deep down - that he was often annoyed at their closeness. Ben always reassured him that Thea was  _his_  twin, nobody else's and that that kind of bond couldn't be beaten by anyone. Not even Ben's own with Thea.

Klaus couldn't help all these emotions, but he still felt guilty seeing Thea's face now upset at the memory of her and Five. Ben nodded his head sharply at Thea, demanding Klaus do something as he couldn't comfort her himself.

Klaus made his way, rather awkwardly, towards his sister and held her hand. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

Thea sniffed before giving him a smile, "I know. I'm just so happy he's back. It's like we're a family again. If only Ben-" she choked up again before she could finish her sentence. Ben smiled sadly at her. Klaus felt the need to help. "I-I'm sure if he were...ever to appear, he'd um, he'd want you to be happy." He felt awkward talking about Ben like he wasn't there, but for now, he needed to pretend for the sake of his sister.

Thea smiled at Klaus' efforts to make her feel better. "Oh, I know he would, the big softie." She grinned lovingly at the thought of Ben. Ben let out an affronted sound at the 'big softie' comment but he still had an adoring look on his face.

Klaus just laughed at them both.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea had spent most of her day reading some of Ben's books. After talking to Klaus in the morning, he'd mentioned something about meeting Five with Diego and Luther and a van, but Thea had just nodded and left him to it. She didn't want to impose and just hoped Five would ask for help when he really needed it.  _He's not a kid anymore. No matter how much he looks like one. I have to trust that he knows what he's doing and will come for help if it's needed._

She liked spending time in Ben's room, no matter the ache that came with spending time surrounded by memories of him. Hargreeves hadn't moved anything from his room - whether he couldn't be bothered or just didn't feel the need - Thea was grateful none the less. His far wall was covered in books and Thea liked to read them to feel closer to him. She was reading Nikolai Gogol's  _Dead Souls_  when Klaus peered his head around the door.

"Here you are, I was looking everywhere for you. Should've known you'd be in here." He muttered the last part.

Thea bookmarked her place in the book and stood up. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Klaus shrugged and continued eating his snack. "Something about a family meeting. Everyone's downstairs, they said to come and get you."

Thea raised her eyebrows but nodded. She followed him out the room and down the stairs, the book still clenched in her hand.

In the living room, all her siblings stood surrounding a TV monitor. "What's going on?" she asked.

Diego didn't waste any time making his displeasure known. "Luther's given up on his suspicions of us and now thinks  _Mom_  killed Dad." Thea was shocked, she looked to Luther, "Really?"

Luther pointed towards the screen and replayed the clip. Thea watched on in disbelief. Grace was stood watching as Hargreeves died on his bed.  _What the hell is going on..._

Vanya's voice spoke out from the shocked silence. "Do you really think Mom would hurt Dad?"

Luther shot her down, "You haven't been home in a long time, Vanya. Maybe you don't know Grace anymore." Thea glared at his remark.

"That was unnecessary, Luther. We've all been gone for a long time, and I'm pretty sure we're all wondering the same thing she is." Vanya gave Thea a grateful smile for defending her. Thea walked over and squeezed her shoulder in support. Vanya was as much a member of this family as the rest of them, Thea believed she had the right to say what she felt.

"If he was poisoned, it would have shown in the coroner's report." Diego pointed out. Thea nodded.

"Well, I don't need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes," Luther replied defensively.

"Maybe all that low gravity in space messed with your vision," Diego took a step closer and pointed at the screen, "Look closer. Dad has his monocle. Mom stands up. Monocles gone."

"Oh, yeah!" Klaus laughs out, mouth stuffed with crisps.

Diego continued, "She wasn't poisoning him. She was...taking it. To clean it." Thea raised a brow at that.  _Cleaning his monocle as he lay there, dying?_

"Then where is it?" Luther asked. "I've searched the house, including her things. She doesn't have it."

"Invasion of privacy or what," Thea muttered under her breath. Klaus snorted at her comment.

Diego looked down before admitting, "That's because I took it from her. After the funeral."

Allison turned to him, incredulously. "You've had the monocle this whole time? What the hell, Diego?"

"Give it to me," Luther demanded.

"I threw it away."

"You what?"

Diego took a step closer, pointing his knife "Look, I knew that if you found it on Mom, you'd lose your shit, just like you're doing now."

"He's got a point." Thea chimed in. Vanya nodded.

Luther took a threatening step forward and Diego raised his fists, but Vanya got in between them. "Look, I know Dad wasn't exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he said. Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but...also a protector"

Allison shook her head. "What does that mean?"

"She was programmed to intervene if someone's life was in jeopardy."

Klaus came to stand closer to where Thea now sat on the sofa, Ben sat on the armrest next to her. She had a frown on her face as she watched her siblings argue.

"Well, if her hardware is degrading then...we need to turn her off," Luther said. Thea winced at his tone.

Diego jumped up in anger, "Woah, woah, woah, wait. She's not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet." He shouted. "She feels things, I've seen it!"

"She just stood there, Diego, and watched our Father die." Luther pointed out.

"I'm with Luther." Allison declared.

"Surprise, surprise." Diego mocked. "Shut up." She sneered.

Diego, Luther and Allison turned to Vanya. She was flustered and stammered out a response.

"Yeah, she shouldn't get a vote." Diego dismissed.

"Hey!" Thea shouted at him and glared. "Not cool."

Vanya glared at him too, "I was going to say I agree with you."

"Okay, she should get a vote." Diego turned to Klaus and Thea. "What about you stoner boy? Know-it-all?" Thea glared at his nickname for her and Klaus.  _Just because I can read minds doesn't make me a know-it-all. Not that there's anything worth learning from your brain, dickhead._

Klaus huffed incredulously, "Oh, so, what? You need my help now?" he mocked. "'Get out of the van, Klaus!' Well, welcome back to the van."

"Van? What van?" Thea asked. She turned to Diego and Luther, "Were you leaving him out of things again?" she glared at them both. Klaus put an arm around her shoulders, "Don't worry sis, they're all bores anyway."

Luther scoffed, "What's it gonna be, Klaus?"

"I'm with Diego because screw you! And if Ben were here, he'd agree with me." He finished dramatically.  _'No, I don't.'_ Klaus heard Ben say from where he sat beside Thea. Said girl sighed sadly before mumbling, "No, he wouldn't, Klaus."

Diego rolled his eyes and pointed at Thea, "Well?"

Thea rubbed her forehead, feeling a migraine coming along. "Look, I get where you two are coming from," she looked at Allison and Luther, "but I can't condone you treating Grace like she's not a person, after all she's done for us." She sighed, "Can't we just like, I don't know, see if anything is wrong with her wiring before assuming the worst?"

Luther shook his head determinedly. Diego cut in, "Doesn't matter, it's four against two."

"Vote's not final yet. Five's not here. The family has to vote. We owe each other that." Allison said.

"I mean, it wouldn't make much difference..." Thea mumbled.

Everyone agreed on waiting. Luther and Allison walked out whilst Klaus started heading upstairs. Thea watched him go and saw Grace stood in the entryway. Thea's heart dropped. Diego noticed her stare and followed it, seeing Grace too.

"Hey. How long you been here?" he asked quietly.

Grace had a faraway look on her face. She seemed to finally notice Diego, Thea and Vanya and smiled. "You all seem upset. I'll bake cookies." Thea sighed before following after her. "Hey, Mom? Can I help?" Grace turned to Thea with a loving smile on her face. "Of course, dear."

Thea turned and gave Diego a look.  _I'll take care of her._  He nodded once,  _thank you_.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea was in her and Klaus' room, finishing Ben's book from earlier on. Klaus had gone in the bath and she was waiting for him to come back.

She shot up when she heard what she thought was gunshots. Her first thoughts were that someone had gotten in the house somehow, but who? And how? Her second thought was of Klaus and how she could get to him in time. He had arguably the least combat-helpful power out of the six and if someone really was in the house, then she needed to get him safe.  _Quickly._

Thea jumped off the bed and rushed to the door. Peeking out she saw it was clear and hurried down the hallway as quietly as she could. Gunshots could still be heard from downstairs and Thea just prayed that the others were okay and that Vanya had gone home like she'd said she would. When she made it to the bathroom, Thea looked inside and wanted to cry. Empty bath. This meant he'd gotten out and somehow hadn't heard all the noise, otherwise, he would've come straight to their room.

Thea heard footsteps coming up the stairs and quickly hid behind the door. From the glass of the door, she saw a figure wearing what looked like a pink dog's head walk past. The gunfire had stopped, but Thea was unsure where anyone else was and didn't want to leave Klaus defenceless. She felt guilty not helping the others as she knew her power would be useful, but Klaus needed her more. Besides, she trusted her siblings to be able to defend themselves.  _I have to trust them._

Taking a steadying breath, Thea crept out of her hiding place and followed the direction of the masked intruder.

After a couple of minutes, the figure stopped, and Thea almost screamed as she saw Klaus stood there in a towel and headphones in, completely unaware of the danger he was in. Thea was frozen in fear and couldn't even think of trying to control masked figure's mind in her blind panic for her brother. Her throat was tight, and she only managed to croak out a shaky "K-klaus!"

Klaus seemed to hear her as he turned and noticed her, completely missing the masked figure that crept up closer from behind. Thea's eyes widened in horror and she shouted at him, "Run! Klaus run!"

Klaus' own eyes widened, and Thea hoped he'd finally gotten her message, but his gaze was focused on the second masked figure that now stood behind  _her_ , his arm raised.

Thea met her brother's frightened gaze before she felt something blunt hit her against the head. She heard her brother shouting her name as she fell to the floor.

Then all she knew was black.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got about four chapters written that I just haven't had the chance to upload so they'll all be going up straight after this one!   
> I hope you enjoy where this story is going :)


	10. We'll Get Through This

Thea woke up to the sound of someone choking. She let out a groan at the pounding of her head. It felt like she'd taken a sledgehammer straight to the forehead. She scrunched her eyes tight at the throbbing.

_'She's waking up.'_

_'Wonder what took so long.'_

_'Finally.'_

_'Now we can get answers.'_

_'Let's see if this one will talk.'_

Thea shook her head at the sudden influx of voices in her head. The pain was making it difficult to concentrate on blocking anything out. She didn't recognise any of them and wondered where she'd woken up this time.

 _'Oh god, Thea, please be okay, please, please...'_ that one voice drew Thea's attention. She knew that voice.... Thea's eyes snapped open and she let out a gasp. "Klaus!"

Thea blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision and she cried at what she saw. Klaus. Practically naked and tied to a chair, blood dripping down his sweaty face and body. His eyes were on her and they were wide with fright. Thea tried to move toward him but couldn't. She frowned and looked down at herself in confusion, only to see that she was tied up too. She had nothing on but her undergarments and her wrists and ankles were tied to a wooden chair. Thea opened her mouth to speak and was slapped across the face.

"Listen up missy. We're sick and tired of your brother over there and his games, so it's your turn. Where's the boy?" asked a figure wearing a mask. Thea recognised it as the same dog mask she'd seen the night before.

"Huh?" Thea asked stupidly. She was slapped again. Klaus let out a yell in protest.

"I said, where is the boy?" Thea struggled to follow their conversation as her head was pounding against her skull. She blinked a few more times before answering. "What boy?"

The masked figure gripped Thea's chin harshly, "Your brother.  _That_  boy."

"Five?" Thea asked in confusion. "What do you want with Five?"

"That's none of your business. Now just tell us where he is, and you can both go free." The figure said.

Thea let out a humourless chuckle. "I don't know what the hell you want with Five, but if you think I'm gonna help you get within one mile of him then you're more delusional than I originally thought." Thea spat at the figures masked face. She was slapped again and her lip split. Thea spat out the blood onto the floor beside her.

The masked figure walked across the room to their accomplice. "She's just as stubborn as him. What shall we do?" They both walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Thea ignored them and looked over at her brother in worry. "Oh my god, Klaus, are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't get to you in time."

Klaus shook his head at his sister's worries. He wished she'd have stayed knocked out, at least then they'd only focus on him and not her. Ben stood beside her, biting his lip worryingly. "I'm fine, I don't even know where Five is to tell them anything. What about you? Are you okay? How's your head?"

Thea's eyebrows furrowed at the reminder of the dull throbbing against her skull. "It feels like I've been punched in the face by Luther." She muttered.

' _The back of her head's bleeding. She'll need it seeing to before it gets infected.'_ Klaus heard Ben say.

Thea's head snapped to the side where Ben stood, her eyes wide. Klaus looked on equally as shocked. "W-what?" she muttered.

Klaus was wide-eyed, "Y-you can see him?" Thea didn't turn away from the empty spot she was looking at. "S-say something again." She whispered out.

Ben stood frozen in place, staring directly back at Thea. "Say something!" she pleaded.

Ben looked at Klaus before stuttering, ' _I-I don't know what to say...'_

Thea burst into tears at hearing his voice. She couldn't see him, but Klaus could, and she could hear his voice in Klaus' mind. Klaus was still baffled at what was happening and voiced his confusion.

 _'It seems she can't concentrate because of the pain and so she isn't able to block out your thoughts anymore. When you hear me, you visualise what you're seeing and hearing, and now so can Thea. To an extent.'_ Ben explained. He'd helped Thea with her power a lot growing up, and so knew a lot of the limits and tricks of her ability.

Thea couldn't get out any words and just nodded whilst she cried, whispering his name under her breath. Hearing his voice again after so long...she couldn't handle it. She'd missed him  _so_  much.

Klaus and Ben looked at Thea in sadness. This is exactly why they hadn't wanted to tell her. They didn't think it was healthy to know Ben was around without being able to touch or interact with him. Klaus sighed. This was the worst time for her to have found out.

"Thea, look. I know this is a big thing and I swear we can talk all about it once we get out of here, but to do that, we need to actually, y'know,  _get out of here."_

Thea sniffled and nodded her head. She tried regaining her composure. She looked up at Klaus, "Okay, but don't think you're getting out of that talk. I want to know what's going on.  _Both_  of you." She added glancing to where she thought Ben stood. Klaus nodded. He opened his mouth to speak but at that moment the bathroom door opened.

The two figures walked out, the smaller one muttering, "torturing works best when you know  _who_  you're torturing."

Thea and Klaus watched them approach. The smaller figure stood behind Thea and grabbed her hair, yanking it back. Thea let out a shout at the sudden pain. Klaus shuffled in his bindings, "Hey, let her go!"

Thea's hair was pulled tighter, her neck bent backwards. She felt something thin wrap around her throat before she suddenly couldn't breathe. Thea choked and struggled against her bindings, her body shaking. "It seems missy here doesn't have the same weird kinks as you do." The figure said to Klaus. Thea let out choked sounds as she struggled for air.

Klaus struggled harder in his hair, his eyes wide and crying, "No, no, no! Please, stop! Stop! Please, listen." Thea's eyes looked straight into his with tears running down her cheeks. "Don't, please."

' _Klaus do something.'_ Ben said urgently. He was pacing, watching Thea being choked and unable to do anything. Klaus was panicking. The second figure came up beside him, "We'll stop, for the low, low price of telling us everything." He taunted.

"Okay, fine! Fine!" Klaus shouted.

Instantly Thea was freed, and she coughed violently, trying to catch her breath. She took deep breaths trying to not pass out. Her throat was throbbing, and a thin red line could be seen around her throat from the wire used to choke her.

Klaus began to cry as both figures stood in front of him. "Okay. I don't... I don't know where Five is. I wasn't lying about that. But I can tell you that he- he hasn't been making much sense since he came back."

Thea wanted desperately to stop Klaus from talking but she was struggling to breathe let alone control anyone right now.

"Elaborate." The deep voice of the figure wearing a blue bear mask asked.

Klaus spluttered, "he-he's just been acting like a- a lunatic. He's been sitting in this van in front of a- a lab or something...and looking for the owner of an eyeball. One of those fakes ones."

"That makes no sense," the deep voice drawled.

"Hold on, just hold on," the other figure spoke. "Tell us more about this eye, and why is it so important?"

Klaus opened his mouth but stopped when nothing came out. He looked over at Thea whose eyebrows were furrowed and sweat dripped down her face. She was trying her hardest to stop him from telling them more about Five.

Seeing this and knowing the siblings of that house all had abilities of some kind, the smaller figure walked over to Thea and slapped her again, hard. Thea felt blood drip down her eye and winced again at the return of her throbbing migraine.

"Continue," the figure demanded at Klaus.

Klaus gazed at Thea in worry and told them as much as he knew. Anything to get him and his sister out of here. "He said it had something to do with the end of times, or something." He sobbed.

The two figures looked at each other. They nodded before taking a hold of each siblings chair and dragging them to the hotel room closet. Klaus was pushed in first, followed by Thea. They shut the door, and not long afterwards, Thea heard the room door shutting too. They'd left, for now.

Klaus was hyperventilating behind the tape they'd covered both their mouths with. He couldn't help but remember the times their Father would lock him up in the crypts to test his power. He could vividly remember the screams and moans of the dead. Remember their hands reaching and grabbing for him as he couldn't escape. He remembered screaming for Thea to help him. Screaming for Ben and their Dad. Screaming for  _anybody_  to come and rescue him.

' _Klaus. Klaus. Breathe.'_ Both siblings could hear Ben now. Thea was still in too much pain to even attempt at blocking Klaus out, not that she was going to now she knew Ben was here.

Klaus moaned behind the tape, wanting to get out.

_'Just try and stay calm. You both need to stay calm to get out of here.'_

Thea nodded her head. She looked at Klaus and tried to give him her best reassuring look despite blood running down her face and her mouth taped shut. They both stopped moving when they heard the noise of a vacuum cleaner coming from the room. Klaus immediately started shouting again, trying to wriggle out of his bonds. Thea sighed and leaned her head back against the closet wall. She tried breathing in and out to calm her nerves.

 _'Are you alright?'_ She heard from somewhere in the closet. Thea just nodded her head, assuming Ben would see. She opened her eyes and nodded towards Klaus, hoping he got what she was trying to say. Only Ben could get Klaus to calm down right now, as she couldn't say anything herself.

 _'She can't hear you.'_ Ben told Klaus. Klaus continued to whine and struggle.

 _'You know what the worst part of being dead is?'_  Ben asked.  _'You're stuck. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to change. That's the real torture if you gotta know.'_  Klaus started to calm down, listening to Ben. He turned around to where Thea assumed Ben sat.

 _'Watching your brother take for granted everything you lost and pissing it all away.'_ Ben was looking at Thea as he said it. Klaus realised he was talking about her.

Thea let out a sob from behind her tape at Ben's admission. Klaus turned to look at his sister and his gaze softened. He whimpered as her teary eyes met his own. They had to get out of here. He had to get  _Thea_  out of here. He watched Thea close her eyes and take calming breaths.  _We need to get out of here, and soon._

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea's head hit the back of the closet door, waking her up from her fitful sleep. She groaned as she felt the wound on the back of her head reopen. Klaus was sat in front of her. The figures had come back, this time without their masks. One was a tall pale man that had a scruffy beard and curly dark hair. The other a petite black woman with a short bob cut.

Thea hung her head in exhaustion despite her short nap. Klaus' voice was muffled behind the tape.

"What's he saying?" the man asked. The woman walked over and ripped the tape off his mouth. "What're you saying?"

"You guys are scarier without the masks," Klaus chuckled sarcastically. The woman slapped him across the face and Thea shouted in protest behind her still taped mouth. The man glanced at Thea before looking back at Klaus, "That's no way to say hello to your old friends, is it?"

Thea made more noise behind her tape. The woman huffed in frustration before ripping the tape off her mouth too. Thea let out a gasp before looking up at her. "Please, just let us go. He told you what you wanted."  _No matter how much I wish he hadn't._

"Well, technically, we want your brother." She looked over at Klaus, "Is your brother here now?"

Klaus looked over at the bed where Ben lay. He began to laugh. "You're gonna have to be a little more specific on that."

Thea groaned at Klaus' horrible timing, "Klaus, please, this is no time for jokes." The woman slapped Klaus again. Thea panicked, "Look. Five won't come, okay? As much as I hate to admit it, our siblings probably think Klaus is out getting high and they're just going to assume I'm with him." She sighed, "Nobody's coming."

The man and woman stared at her and Klaus. "Well, Number Five knows now. We left him a message. And when he comes for you both, we'll be ready." The man walked over to the curtains and pulled them closed. The woman turned off the lights.

Thea groaned at the thought of even more waiting for nothing to happen. She was desperately trying to block out the pain from both her headache and the reopened wound, but it was a constant pounding and she was beginning to feel dizzy from it all.

' _You went there again, didn't you?'_ Ben's voice brought Thea's attention to her brother. He had his eyes scrunched tight and was shaking. "No, no, no, no..." he whimpered.

Thea could hear someone shouting in Russian and she shook her head. "Klaus," she whispered. He looked over at her, "who the hell is speaking Russian? It doesn't sound like Ben."

Klaus looked at Thea in confusion. Could she hear the dead woman, too? Although he guessed if she could hear Ben because  _he_  could, then it made sense to hear the woman because  _he_  could too. "I don't know, it's some crazy woman walking around the room. I can't understand her."

"She's dead? Ugh, great, the last thing I needed was another voice..." she shook her head, "God, I feel like my head's gonna explode."

Klaus was worried. Ben was too. Thea had a head wound that, from the fresh blood dripping down her neck, had reopened and now she could hear everything Klaus could, too. Klaus was worried she was going to pass out from the pain.

 _'Look at her. How she's looking at them. She's one of their victims.'_ Ben's soft voice cut in. Thea assumed they were talking about whatever ghost was currently with them. ' _We can use this. You haven't been this sober since we were teenagers. This is your chance, Klaus. You can get both of you out. Thea needs medical attention and soon.'_ Klaus took a deep breath and closed his eyes. ' _Control them, learn their secrets.'_

"Klaus," Thea whispered. "I know you don't like to do it, and I would never ask this of you if it weren't so dire, but please, help us. I'm not sure how long I can stay conscious." Klaus nodded his head and so Thea shut her eyes to keep herself from passing out while he did his thing. She could hear him mumbling to the ghost but drowned him out and focused on breathing.

_In. Out._

_In. Out._

_In. Out._

Thea repeated this to herself. She groaned when she could hear even more voices. Had Klaus summoned more people? God...her head was on fire. It felt like someone was drilling into her skull.

_'Thea, are you alright? Just hold on a little longer. Klaus is working on getting you both out.'_

"Yeah," she whispered. "It just hurts so much, Ben. My head, it-it hurts so bad." Thea wanted to cry but she'd cried so much within the last 12 hours she wasn't sure she had any tears left. She felt her mouth being taped back up and the bathroom door slamming closed. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes. Klaus was shuffling his chair over to the table by the window.

A figure walked past, and he began hitting his head against the table to make noise. Thea wanted to join him but felt if she did she'd probably throw up from the pain.

The door opened, and a dark-haired young woman peeked inside. She immediately caught sight of the two siblings who were still mostly naked and tied up.

"Are you Diego's brother and sister?" she whispered.

They both nodded vigorously. She let out a breath, "I'm Detective Patch."

Thea caught the woman's eyes and gestured towards the bathroom with her head, trying to warn her of the danger. Patch nodded and took out a switchblade to cut off their bindings. Thea let out a sigh of relief at finally being able to move her limbs again. She immediately gripped Klaus' hand and cupped his face to check he was okay.

The bathroom door creaked open and the man shot into the room. Detective Patch took out her gun and shot back. Thea and Klaus ducked behind the bed for cover. They were both in no shape to try and fight back.

"Police!" Patch yelled out. "Drop the gun, or you're going down!"

The man dropped his gun and slowly walked out the room unarmed. "I'm coming out, don't shoot."

Thea looked around in a panic. She needed to get Klaus out safely somehow. She looked behind him where they were crouched under the bed and saw the vent. She tapped Klaus urgently and pointed toward it. "Get in, it should lead outside. Hurry." Klaus shook his head, but Thea didn't let him argue. "Look, I'll be right behind you, okay? Now hurry, we don't have time to argue about this. Get in."

Klaus nodded shakily before opening the vent and crawling inside. Pushing the briefcase that was inside in front of him as he went. He heard Thea whisper behind him, "Don't look back. Just keep going. I'm coming now, I'm just putting the vent back on." Klaus couldn't turn around in the vent, so he listened to his sister and kept pushing forward as quickly as he could.

Thea was going to follow her brother when she remembered the detective that had come to save them. She looked back at their saviour, who now held the man at gunpoint. Thea's eyes widened when she realised what was wrong.  _There were two of them..._

Just as she predicted, the woman stepped into the room, she'd somehow gotten from the bathroom and had her gun raised at the detective. Before she could second guess herself, Thea desperately grabbed at the woman's mind to pause her shooting for a few seconds. She couldn't focus enough for total control, but it gave Thea enough time to jump at the detective and push her down as the shot rang out.

Thea felt the pain explode in her stomach, as the bullet went straight through. She heard Patch gasp as Thea pushed her out the way. They both fell to the floor. Patch hitting her head against the table on her way down, knocking her unconscious. Thea struggled to breathe and choked on the blood in her mouth.

The man got up and looked down at Thea, gun raised. "Forget her, that wound will kill her before she can get help. The other, too. We got a bigger problem." She pointed towards the vent. The man sighed in agitation. "The Briefcase."

"Shit." The woman exclaimed and they both rushed out, leaving a bleeding Thea on the floor.

Thea whimpered at the pain but knew it was a clean wound if the bullet had gone straight through. She tried lifting her hands up to cover the wound, but they were shaking too much. She began to cry in fear of what was happening. She looked towards the corner of the room, where she knew the vent lay.  _At least Klaus got out. That's all that matters._ She breathed deeply, her light-headedness coming back.  _It's okay. I'll see Ben again. And Klaus. I'll see them both again. He's safe. He's safe._

Thea just kept repeating it in her mind. The thought of Klaus being safe helped take her mind off the burning pain in her stomach. She heard a groan and saw Patch sitting up clutching her head. When she turned around, she gasped in shock at the sight of Thea. Patch hurried over and tried putting pressure on the wound.

"Oh my god, oh-oh god are you okay?" she asked shakily. Thea just grit her teeth at the stupid question and gave her a 'do I look okay?' look. Patch laughed shakily at her expression. "Y-yeah, stupid question to ask, sorry. I can't believe you saved me. I don't know what to say...Oh god, Diego. He's going to kill me."

Thea felt like laughing at Patch's rambling if her stomach wasn't currently pouring blood. Her sight was beginning to blur, and she coughed up more blood.

Patch looked down at the girl who had saved her. She would have  _died_  without this girl.  _Diego's sister._  She still wasn't quite sure what had happened, but she remembered the girl tackling her and then the sound of a gunshot before her vision went black. Patch was panicking as the girl lost more blood despite her best efforts to stop it.

She heard footsteps coming from outside the room and hoped it wasn't those psychopaths coming back. Diego came running into the room and Patch let out a sigh of relief. He stood frozen when he saw Thea laying on the floor bleeding out, whilst Patch hovered over her, hands covered in the girl's blood.

"Thea!" Diego shouted out. He dropped to his knees beside his sister and cradled her head between his hands. Thea looked up at her brother in confusion. Her eyes were glazed over, and it was obvious she couldn't recognise anything that was going on.

"She's going into shock." Patch said. Diego looked up at her, his eyes wide in fright. "W-what happened?" he stuttered out.

Patch looked down at the girl, "She saved me. They tried shooting me, but she pushed me away at the last minute." Diego took a sharp breath at the thought of Eudora being shot but then let it out shakily at the sight of his sister who was bleeding out. He picked Thea up bridal style and began to hurry out the door.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Patch asked incredulously.

"Home. S-she needs medical attention u-urgently." Sirens could be heard in the distance and Diego knew he had to leave before they arrived. He looked back at Patch with a pleading expression, "Please, my sister is d-dying, and she needs help quickly. Let me go." Patch just nodded, knowing he was right, and Diego ran out of the room with Thea in his arms.

Patch took a shaky breath as the sirens got closer and stared at the pool of blood on the floor from the girl that had saved her life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment, I always enjoy hearing your thoughts :)


	11. See You Again

Diego burst into his room where Five and Luther sat. "Piece of shit." He stalked over to the bed and lunged at Five. "Do you have any idea what you just did?" Luther held him back as Diego screamed. "No, get your ape hands off of me!"

"I can do this as long as it takes you to calm down," Luther replied calmly.

"Fine," Diego gritted out. Luther let him go, "Now, wanna tell us what you're talking about?"

Diego stared at Five in anger, "Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back. He was in the middle of that shootout at Griddy's, and then at Gimble Brothers after the masks attacked the academy, looking for him." Diego spat.

"None of which is any of your concern," Five drawled.

"It is now. They almost killed my friend." Diego said, purposely omitting Thea's name knowing he wouldn't get answers if he mentioned her. Luther looked back at Five in question. Five sighed, "They work for my former employer. A woman called the Handler, she sent them to stop me. Then, soon as Diego's friend got in their way, well, fair game." Five replied unsympathetically.

Diego glared at his brother. "Yeah, well, you might change your tone when you hear that my friend didn't die because  _somebody_  managed to stop the shooter for a few seconds before they shot. Taking the bullet for her." He narrowed his eyes at five, "Sound like someone we know? Hm? Maybe like a missing sister nobody's seen since  _yesterday_?" he asked sarcastically.

Five's eyes widened in horror. Thea was  _shot_? He stood up and gripped Diego's shirt. "Where is she now? Is she okay?" he asked frantically.

Diego chuckled bitterly. "Oh, so now you care? What happened to 'fair game', huh?"

Five clenched his teeth at Diego's tone, "Where. Is. She."

Diego scoffed and turned away. "I took her back to the house. She was bleeding out from her stomach. She'd passed out from the pain before I even got her there."

Luther's voice shook with concern as he asked, "Is she okay?"

Diego turned to look at the two and nodded. "Pogo fixed her up in time. She'll be resting for a few days, but she'll be fine." Five let out a breath at knowing she'd be okay. "I'm going back to the house to check on her." He declared. Luther just nodded his head, knowing he couldn't stop Five.

"Yeah, okay. I'll meet you back there. Then you can tell me more about this apocalypse stuff." Luther said, his tone indicating Five had no choice in the matter. Five nodded sharply before spatial jumping away.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea was sick of waking up and not knowing where she was or what was happening. Her head felt groggy and her body ached. The feeling started coming back into her limbs and she noticed her hand was cradled in someone else's. Blinking open her eyes, she recognised the Academy's walls and let out a sigh of relief. She was home.

She turned to her left and saw Five sat beside her, his upper body leaning against her bed as he slept. She looked down at her hand that was wrapped in his smaller one. She smiled and rubbed her thumb across his knuckles. Thea leaned over as much as her stomach allowed to brush Five's hair out of his eyes. His brows furrowed in his sleep and Thea let out a giggle at the cute expression. She smoothed the crease from between his brows and looked at his peaceful sleeping face. Her actions must have woken him as Five's eyes opened and he blinked back at her.

Thea smiled fondly at the boy, "Hi. Sleep well?"

Five shot up, startling Thea, and he wrapped his arms around her neck. Thea was shocked at his actions, knowing her brother wasn't the touchiest of people. She could hear his muffled voice against her neck. "You're okay. You're alive. You're okay." he kept repeating the same words over and over.

She moved him back to where she could see him and cupped his face between her hands, her thumb rubbing soothing motions on his jaw. "Hey, hey. I'm okay, I'm here and I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere, you can't get rid of me that easily," she smiled at him cheekily.

Five felt like the weight of the world had left his shoulders when Thea began joking like her normal self. When Diego had come storming in telling him Thea had been shot Five had felt like he'd stopped breathing. His chest had gone tight and his stomach felt like lead. He'd gotten here as soon as possible, running into the room as Pogo was cleaning up the operating equipment. He'd given Five a nod before leaving him alone with Thea. Five hadn't left her side since and had been sat for a few hours by her side, holding her cold hand in his. He'd wanted to be there when she woke up. He  _needed_  to.

Five looked up at Thea and her loving smile. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried for you." She said. Five gave her an incredulous look.  _She_  was worried about  _him_? She had been kidnapped and shot and she was worried about  _him_?

"Whoever took us was looking for you and when they started hurting me Klaus couldn't help but tell them all about your eye activity and the stuff about the apocalypse. I tried stopping him, but I couldn't concentrate from the pain, so he told them." She rubbed his cheeks with her thumbs, "don't blame Klaus, he was just doing what he thought was right. But I was so scared they'd find you. I'm so glad you're safe," she whispered.

Five stared back in part horror and part heartbreak. Thea had been tortured,  _because of him,_ and while she and Klaus had been through hell, he'd been getting drunk and falling asleep in a library. Five had never felt worse than he did at that moment.

"You're such an idiot, Z." he said bluntly.

Thea's mouth dropped open at the perceived insult. "Excuse me?"

Five moved out of her hold and sat back on the chair beside the bed. "You're an idiot. Why are you worried about me when I'm the reason you got taken in the first place?"

Thea looked at him like he was a child that didn't understand. He clenched his jaw. "Five. It wasn't your fault that those two people took me and Klaus. Yes, they were looking for you, but you didn't send them after us. You weren't even here when it happened. I fully trust that if you had of been, you'd have done anything to have stopped it from happening."

Five opened his mouth to retort but she cut him off, "and don't go on one of your rants about how 'I should have been there' or 'done more to find you'. It's over now. Let's move on from it, okay? Besides, you know how stubborn I am. I can argue about this all day, old man." She smirked at his affronted expression.

"Fine. But they'll pay for what they did to you." He declared. He hadn't been bothered at the thought of Diego's friend being shot, but his sister was too far. He wouldn't let this go unpunished.

Thea smiled at him fondly and patted his hand. "I'm sure you will." She looked around the room, "Now, there is something you can do for me. Where's Klaus? Did he get back okay? He escaped before I got shot and I don't know where he went or if he even knows."

Five shook his head. "I'm not sure, I only heard about you from Diego. We can try looking in your room?" he suggested. Thea nodded gratefully and dragged herself out of the bed. Five took her arm and helped her walk across the room. She could stand, but her stomach felt tight and when she turned it pulled horribly.

They slowly made their way upstairs and towards her shared room. Five walked in first as Thea stood leaning against the door. Her side was burning from all the movement.

"Are you okay?" Five asked Klaus, who was putting on a shirt. Klaus turned to the two and his eyes widened when he saw Thea. She smiled back at him and limped her way over to give him a hug.

"I'm so glad you made it out okay, Klausy." She said into his stomach.

Klaus was frozen at the sight of Thea. His mind flashed to what had happened before he travelled, and he jumped when he remembered how they'd both been kidnapped, and Thea had told him to escape first. He looked down at his sister, eyes filled with regret and sadness.

"W-what happened?" his voice was croaky. Thea looked up in concern but shrugged in response. "I got shot."

Shot? Klaus immediately held her at arm's length to check her over for injuries. Thea patted his arm and lifted her shirt up, showing her bandaged stomach. A small patch of blood had stained the dressing. Klaus' mind went blank at the sight of the wound.  _She'd been shot. My own twin had been shot and I'd almost forgotten what even happened._ He felt guilt settle in his stomach like lead and tried forming words in his mouth.

"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know, I-I, I mean, what happened after I left?" even admitting he'd gone, left a bad taste in his mouth. Thea had told him to go first but why hadn't he persisted and made her go first instead? None of this would have happened if he'd just  _put_   _her first_.

"The woman somehow managed to get from the bathroom to the front door and pulled a gun on the detective that came to save us. I couldn't just leave her after she'd come after us, so I stopped the woman from shooting for a few seconds, so I could push the detective out of the way," Thea replied. "I ended up getting shot and the detective hit her head after I pushed her. The masks left when they realised they'd lost a briefcase or something. I don't know, I was kind of out of it."

"Briefcase?" Five asked from where he'd been stood at the doorway. He'd let them have their moment but knew he needed to bring up the issue at hand now Thea had just confirmed his suspicions.

Thea nodded at Five's question. "Yeah, I think it was in the vent or something because when they realised Klaus escaped they panicked and left."

Five's gaze narrowed at Klaus, who was looking at Thea she'd disappear at any moment. "You did it, didn't you?"

Thea looked at him in confusion as Klaus asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You know, I can recognise the symptoms, Klaus." Five stated walking closer.

"Symptoms of what?" Thea asked.

Five continued to stare at Klaus, "The jet lag. Full body itch. Headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up into your nose and through your brain. You gonna tell me about it?"

Klaus sighed and sat on his bed. Thea followed him. Her side was burning something fierce and she felt slightly lightheaded.

"Your pals, when they broke into the house and they couldn't find you, they took us hostage instead." He said, gesturing to Thea beside him.

"And in return, you stole their briefcase." Five chuckled.

"Yeah, I-I got outside and was going to call for help whilst I waited for Thea – who I thought was right behind me – when I opened it." Klaus sighed.

Five was pacing across the room whilst Thea sat confused at their conversation.

"And the next thing you knew, you were...where? Or should I say when? How long have you been gone?" Five asked annoyed.

Thea frowned at Klaus, "Gone? What do you mean gone? Did you go somewhere after you got out?" she asked.

Klaus didn't look at either of them. He was still grieving over Dave and he felt too guilty to look at Thea at the moment. "Almost a year."

"Five, what does he mean? What are you both talking about?" she had a lost expression on her face. Five saw and softened his tone. "The briefcase that Klaus took belonged to the people who work for my former boss. It's a device that allows them to time-travel. Klaus opened it and somehow managed to be gone a whole year before coming back." Thea looked at Klaus for confirmation, but he wouldn't look her way.

"Hazel and Cha Cha will do whatever they can to get the briefcase back. Where is it now?" Five asked.

"Gone," Klaus muttered. "I destroyed it. Poof."

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"What do you care?"

"What do I care? I needed it, you moron, so I could get back. I could start over." Five told him angrily.

Klaus stood up and shook his head. "Where are you going?" Five asked. Klaus kept walking, "Interrogation's over, just...leave." Thea went to grab his arm, but he shook her off. Her expression crumbled at his dismissal and Klaus only felt the well of guilt and despair grow deeper.

_I'll make it up to her later. I can't be the kind of brother she deserves right now._

 


	12. Confide In Me

Wednesday, 8:15 am

 

Thea sat in the living room surrounded by the whole family, minus Five and Vanya.

Her stomach was healing nicely since yesterday's excursion and she could now move around without pain as long as she didn't push herself. She'd been greeted by a tight hug from a worried Allison. Apparently, the others hadn't bothered to tell her what happened and so Thea had sat through one of Allison's infamous rants to a sheepish Diego and Luther. Thea had tried talking to Klaus since he'd left the night before, but he always managed to avoid her. She wasn't sure what was wrong but she guessed it had something to do with his time-travelling and so she gave him his space. It hurt her more than anything because, for her, it'd been less than a day since she'd almost died and lost him for good.

She wanted to look into his head and see what he was going through, but she dismissed the thought before she could truly consider it.  _I have to be understanding and just wait until he comes to me._ Thea also missed being able to hear Ben. She could only hear him if she opened her mind up to Klaus' thoughts, but she couldn't filter what she heard and so didn't take the chance no matter how tempting it was to hear his voice again.

She knew enough about time-travel to understand that Klaus had lived a whole year since the kidnapping, and he'd probably thought he was never coming back. So she couldn't fault him if he didn't seem as shaken as she was _. I can give him the space he needs. No matter how much it hurts._

Luther had called a family meeting, and so there she lay on the sofa surrounded by her siblings. Allison handed her a coffee with a smile and a kiss to the head. Thea gave her sister a grateful smile.

Luther had told them what Five told him about the apocalypse. Thea was saddened at Five's disappearance. She'd had to go back to Pogo as her stitches had re-opened after finding Klaus and she only later found out that they'd all – minus Allison – gone on some adventure with Five to lure his old boss out. Thea just hoped he'd come back this time.

The world was apparently going to end in three days. She just hoped to see him before it did.

"Three days?" Allison asked as she handed out coffee to everyone.

"That's what Five said."

"The old bastard did mention the apocalypse, come to think of it. He just left out the part about how soon." Klaus commented from his position of the floor. Thea leaned into Diego who sat beside her. He hadn't left her side much since he'd found her at the hotel. Thea just thought it was his way of saying thanks for saving his 'girlfriend'. Thea was just happy he still had the person he clearly cared for.

Thea thought about the world ending in three days and couldn't contain her slightly delirious giggle. They all turned to her in confusion. "Thea, you okay?" Luther asked.

Thea looked up to see everyone staring at her in concern. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony of it all. I'd accepted that I was going to die when I got shot but I was saved. Now I find out I'm going to die in three days anyway, so what was the point?" she let out another bitter laugh.

Diego nudged her, "Hey, don't say that." Thea just shrugged, "Why not? It's the truth. Maybe it would've been easier to have just gone then, is all I'm saying." Klaus had his head down at the reminder of her near-death experience whilst Allison and Luther looked at her with pity.

Allison coughed before trying to change the subject. "Well, can we even trust him? Five? I don't know if you've noticed, but Five's a little..." she whistled while pointing at her head.

"Our little psycho..." Klaus chuckled.

"He was pretty convincing," Luther murmured. "and if he wasn't trying to stop an apocalypse from happening, those two lunatics wouldn't be chasing him."

"That's why they were after him?" Diego asked. "Yeah."

"What did Five even see?" Allison asked.

"Uh, apparently," Luther stuttered, "we all fought together against whoever was responsible." He nodded before pausing awkwardly. He got up and walked away, "Okay. So here's the plan-"

"Wait, what?" Allison asked stunned. Everyone murmured their agreements to Luther carrying on his story. "What actually happened the first time around?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah, what're you not telling us?" Diego muttered, "Come on, big boy, spit it out."

Luther looked down at his coffee before murmuring quietly, "We died."

"What was that?"

Luther shuffled awkwardly. "Uh, I said, we died."

Thea raised an eyebrow at everyone's stunned expressions. Sure, she already knew because Five had told her, but what did it matter if they died? Did they not understand the meaning of  _apocalypse_?  _Y'know, where everyone dies._

They all gathered around the bar talking over Luther's dramatic reveal. Thea just laid on the sofa, too tired to bother. Of course, she wanted to help stop the apocalypse, but she felt pretty useless right now and felt like wallowing in some – in her opinion – well-deserved self-pity.

Thea spotted Vanya and a man she didn't recognise walking through the entryway and sat up to greet them. Thea grinned and waved at the two, even if she didn't know who the man was. Vanya gave her a small smile back before announcing her presence to the others. "Hey."

They all turned to look at her. "What's going on?" she asked. The man beside her stood with a smile on his face.  _He seems nice enough. Is he a friend of Vanya's?_

"It's a family matter," Allison answered. Thea looked at her sister in shock, "I thought you said Vanya was busy?" Thea had brought up Vanya's absence alongside Five's. They'd told her what happened with Five and said that Vanya was 'too busy.' Thea turned back to Vanya, "You weren't too busy?" she asked just to make sure.

Vanya looked at Thea in consideration before shaking her head. Thea looked back at her family. "Why did you lie? And why can't she be included when it's so important?" Thea looked to Diego and Klaus and then back at Luther and Allison. When no one responded she shook her head.

"A family matter," Vanya continued. "So you couldn't be bothered to include me."

Luther stood up, "No, it's not like that-"

Vanya scoffed, "Oh please, don't let me interrupt." She began to walk away, and Allison hurried to catch up with her. "Vanya wait. I'll fill you in later when we're alone."

"Please, please don't bother. And I won't either."

"Vanya, that's not fair." Allison said. Thea cringed at her choice of words.

Vanya gave her a look of disbelief. "Fair? There's nothing fair about being your sister. About being apart of this family. I have been left out of  _everything_  for as long as I can remember. And I used to think it was Dad's fault, but he's dead. So it turns out you're the assholes." She turned and walked away, and the man followed suit.

"Ouch," Klaus muttered sarcastically. Thea gave her twin a sour look before turning and limping out the room after Vanya.

She passed the mystery guy on her way but paid it no mind. She caught up to her sister just as she walked out the door. "Vanya wait." Vanya turned at Thea's shout. Thea huffed and held her side in pain at the sudden fast movement. "Are you okay?" Vanya asked in concern.

Thea looked up at her sister and gave her a small smile. "Yeah sorry, I got shot after some guys attacked the academy and it's starting to hurt because I'm moving too much."

Vanya was surprised at this news. "You got shot?" Thea looked at her in confusion. "Yeah, you didn't know? Didn't anybody tell you? I mean, I would've told you myself but, you know, I was kinda too busy dying." Vanya was hurt. She could accept the others hadn't told her about this family meeting, it happened enough that she was used to it. But to not tell her about her own sister being  _shot_?

"I-I didn't know, Thea. I swear. Otherwise, I would have come straight away." Vanya said sincerely. Thea smiled at her, "I know you would, don't worry. I just assumed you didn't visit because you were busy with being an amazing violinist." Thea grinned mischievously, "You couldn't take time out of your busy schedule to come see the lowly Thea Hargreeves now, could you?" she winked.

Vanya laughed at her sister's dramatics. She was glad Thea was feeling well enough to joke around, at least. "I um, I actually made it to first seat. In the orchestra I play in, I mean."

Thea grinned at Vanya and wrapped her arms around her neck in a hug. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! I have no idea what first chair means but I bet it's awesome!" Vanya laughed at Thea's comment. She was happy one of her siblings was proud of her.

"I was always so jealous of the way you played your violin. Whenever I tried, Klaus would always come running in demanding why I was torturing a cat." Thea laughed at her own joke and Vanya laughed too.

Vanya remembered when Thea had asked her to try her violin when they were younger. The two had been sat in Vanya's room after Thea had come in asking her if she was okay. At that age, Thea couldn't control her powers and so she ended up knowing what everybody was thinking and feeling all the time. It annoyed everyone and they all shared a sigh of relief when she learned to control it. Vanya had admitted to Thea that she was jealous of how powerful she was. Vanya could remember the sad smile Thea had given her before telling her something she'd never forgotten.

_"Vanya, I wish it were as easy as just being powerful. These powers come with a cost and trust me, they aren't worth it. I know it's easy for the one with the power to say it, but I wish I didn't have them." At Vanya's questioning glance, she'd explained further. "These powers make me feel terrible. I feel guilty whenever I hear something I shouldn't and the thought of controlling anyone, to take away their free-will...it isn't something I would choose to do. It scares me what I could become." She'd looked down in sadness, "Plus, do you really think Klaus and Ben would agree that their powers are worth the stress and anxiety it puts them through? Klaus can't sleep for nightmares of the dead and Ben's terrified of what's inside him. I can't speak for Luther, Diego and Allison, but I know that the three of us – me, Klaus and Ben – we wouldn't wish these powers on anyone."_

Vanya had never forgotten Thea's confession. After the rather sombre conversation, she had asked Vanya to teach Thea her own 'power', which Thea insisted was being the  _best_  violinist. Thea had continued to play it even after it was obvious she was terrible and had no ear for music. Thea had laughed and pointed out that this 'proved' it was Vanya's power. Vanya had a suspicion she just did it to make her feel more special. To feel that she was actually good at something. Even better at something than someone considered No.0 in the house. Vanya was always grateful for Thea's actions, even if Thea didn't realise just what she was doing.

"Yeah, you always were a little tone-deaf." Vanya joked. Thea turned to the side and pouted childishly, trying and failing to hide her smile. "Ha-Ha, very funny."

The door opening broke the two sisters of their moment and Thea turned to see the mysterious man walk out holding his coat. "Uh, hi." He said awkwardly.

Thea grinned at him and held her hand out to shake, "Hi. I'm Thea Hargreeves, Vanya's sister."

"Leonard Peabody." He replied, taking her hand. "You were, um, one of  _them_ , right? No.0?  _The_   _Divine_?" He stared at Thea intensely, like he thought she'd disappear into thin air. Thea was surprised he knew her old code name but smiled nonetheless.

"Yep. That's me. But I prefer if people just call me Thea. Especially friends." She looked over at her sister, "Besides, any friend of Vanya's is a friend of mine." She declared. Leonard grinned back at her when she mentioned 'friends'.  _He's sweet, just right for Vanya._

Vanya smiled at the two of them, thankful for Thea's naturally easy-going personality. Leonard stared at Thea for a few more seconds before smiling and turning to Vanya, "Ready to go?" Vanya nodded. She looked at Thea, "See you soon?"

Thea smiled brightly at the two, "Of course! You're always welcome here, Vanya. You're my sister, and it's your home too. Plus, you know where I live, come over any time. That's a given." She looked towards Vanya's friend, "and you too! I'm always looking for new friends!" Thea really wasn't, but she wanted to put in the effort for someone Vanya was close to. It was the least she could do.

Vanya was still smiling as she walked away with Leonard and Thea was glad her sister had somebody who was taking care of her.  _Maybe he'll be good for her._

She turned back to the house and walked inside with a smile.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

She entered the living room to find it empty.  _Where did everyone go? They were all here a minute ago?_  She decided to look upstairs first and found Diego struggling to fasten the laces of his boots. Thea knelt down and gently took them out of his hands and began looping a knot.

"Thanks," Diego said quietly. Thea hummed in response.

She was fastening the second boot when Klaus came into the room behind her carrying rope. He shuffled his feet awkwardly before talking, "I need someone to tie me up." Diego gave him a weird look, but Thea just hummed again and tapped Diego's finished boots. "All done. Don't worry, I'll take care of this."

Diego glanced at Klaus then looked at Thea in concern, "You sure?" She just nodded. Diego got up and gave her head a gentle pat before walking out of the room.

Thea turned to her brother. He was sweaty and looked worse for wear. She took the rope from his hands without question and began following him to one of the spare rooms. Once there, he sat down on a wooden chair in the middle of the room. Thea continued to watch him in silence, not knowing what to say. Klaus had been avoiding her since the kidnapping and Thea didn't know what to do to make things right.

Klaus stared at his sister and he could tell she was sad. It only worsened his guilt and as he glanced to the side of the room where Ben sat staring at Thea forlornly, he felt even worse. Thea stared back at him with a blank expression, waiting for him to begin. Klaus took a deep breath, "I need you to tie me up, on this chair."

Thea blinked twice. "And for what reason, exactly?" she responded dryly.

Klaus looked away, not really wanting to share. It wasn't that he didn't want to confide in his sister, he just didn't feel like burdening anybody else with his problems, especially Thea. She'd already been through so much and she didn't need to see her brother so weak. "I need to conjure someone."

Thea gave him a blank look, "Then do it. Why do you need to be tied down?"

' _Just tell her what happened. She'll understand.'_ Ben said. They both glanced to Thea expecting her to react to his voice, but she just continued to stare at Klaus. Ben's face fell, and Klaus felt even worse.

"Well, as you know...the pesky thing doesn't work unless I'm completely sober. I-I need somebody to take the decision away from me." Thea gave a deep sigh before starting to wrap the rope around him. She circled the chair as the rope wrapped around Klaus' body.

"Y'know, I've been told that I'm a pretty good listener," she said casually.

Klaus kept silent. Thea bit her lip and continued to wrap the rope.

Klaus was in turmoil, he wanted nothing more than to comfort his sister and tell her everything that he'd been through, but he also couldn't let himself be so selfish and put even more stress on her.

Quiet sobs made him look up and his heart broke at the sight. Thea stood in front of him, the rope clutched tightly between her hands, with tears running down her red cheeks. She was biting her lower lip harshly to muffle her cries.

"W-why won't you tell me anything? I waited until you were ready. I-I thought that if I gave you space you'd eventually come and talk to me, but-but you've hardly looked at me since we got kidnapped." She sobbed. Ben had moved closer and was watching the girl in sadness.

"I-I even blocked off your mind completely, so I could give you p-privacy, and I'm s-sorry if I did something wrong, but Klaus, Klaus please talk to m-me." She crouched down and put her head between her knees. "I m-miss Ben. I wanted to hear his voice again, b-but I thought you'd be mad if I l-looked."

Klaus' chest ached at the sight of Thea sobbing on the floor.  _I've been so stupid. Of course, pushing her away wasn't the right thing to do..._ Thea looked up at Klaus from the floor, "You can t-tell me anything, Klausy. You know I won't h-hate you, right? I won't hate you if you forgot me whilst travelling. I wouldn't hold anything against y-you."

"Thea," Klaus tried speaking over Thea's cries. "Thea. Thea, listen to me." She quieted down. Klaus sighed, "I didn't forget you. How could I ever forget you, Thea? I just- I just lost somebody important and didn't know how to deal with it," he whispered. "I thought keeping you out of my problems would be for the best, but I realise it only made things worse. I'm so sorry, Thea. I'm-I'm sorry, please forgive me." Klaus began crying into his chest. Thea leapt from the floor and wrapped her arms around his neck, hiding her tear-stained face into his neck. She sobbed even harder.

"Oh, Klaus. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, I'm so sorry, I should have never made you go first- none of this would have ever happened if I'd have just found a better way out." Klaus shook his head in denial. "No. It's not your fault, and besides, no matter how much losing them hurt, if you hadn't have made me go first with that briefcase, I would have never have met them in the first place."

Thea leaned back to look at her brother's tear-stained and sweaty face. He looked awful and she probably looked just as bad. She leaned in and kissed him lovingly on the cheek. "I love you so much. I've missed you. I've missed you b-both so much."

Klaus leaned into Thea's warmth, his arms still tied by his sides with the rope. Ben watched them both and gave Klaus a small smile. Klaus took a shaky breath before speaking quietly. "Y-you can open the connection again, Thea. It's okay. Ben misses you." She laughed shakily at his comment, "I miss him too." She looked up at Klaus for confirmation, "Are you sure?" He gave her a nod.

Thea was about to open the connection when she stopped. "Wait," she said. "Tell me about them first. I want to hear about it from you directly if you don't mind," she asked shyly.

Klaus smiled fondly at her hopeful look. "Well, his name was Dave." He looked over for Thea's reaction and she gave him a loving grin, "Go on," she urged.

Klaus laughed and carried on. "We soldiered together in the A Shau Valley in the mountain of the Crouching Beast." Klaus had a faraway look on his face. "He must have been lovely," Thea said quietly. She looked up at him from under her lashes, "Only the best deserve my brother."

Klaus hummed in content, "Yeah. He was kind and strong, and vulnerable, and...beautiful. Beautiful, and I was foolish enough to follow him all the way to the front line." Thea listened to Klaus talk, letting him get it all out. "The war couldn't take enough bodies...even his."

Thea's chest ached at her brother's heartbroken tone. She knew what it felt like to lose someone you loved. Someone you were  _in love_  with. She wouldn't wish it on anybody.

Thea let a minute pass and bit her lip. "Well, from one person who lost their soulmate to another, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry Klaus."

Klaus' hand squeezed hers. He hadn't thought of that fact. In all his reasoning he'd never thought of how Thea would understand his heartbreak better than anyone else. Not just because she was his twin, his literal  _other-half_ , but because she'd experienced the same heartbreak and devastation when she lost Ben, as he did with Dave.

"It's okay, sis. I'm just hoping to conjure him now. I need to," he whispered. Thea nodded in understanding. That's what Klaus loved about his Thea, she never pushed for answers and supported you no matter what. "Thea," Klaus caught her attention.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"You can open it now. I'm ready." Thea looked into Klaus' eyes before closing hers in concentration. A couple of minutes passed before they snapped back open and she jumped to hug him again. "Klaus. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that, god, you must have been so scared. I'm so proud of you."

Thea had seen flashes of what Klaus had experienced and she felt lightheaded from all the new information.

 _'Are you okay?'_ Thea heard Ben's soft voice and laughed in relief.

"Yeah, I'm good. Especially now I have my two favourite boys back." Thea gave her brother another kiss on the cheek, "I love you guys so much. You both know that, right? So much that sometimes it hurts."

Klaus hummed and rubbed his cheek against her own whilst Thea heard Ben laugh softly from somewhere beside them. ' _I know. I love you too, Thea.'_ Thea grinned happily at that, her eyes sparkling in happiness. She leant her forehead against Klaus'. 

"Please don't do this to me again, Klaus. It doesn't matter if it was only for a short while but living without you is painful. Please don't shut me out." Klaus nodded in reply, "I promise, Thea. I promise I won't."

Klaus broke the serious moment by glancing behind her and pretending to whisper in secret, "You know, Ben keeps looking at you like such a sap it's beginning to make me gag." Thea stared at him in shock before she burst out laughing.  _'Klaus. Shut up!'_ Thea laughed even harder at Ben's outrage. Her arms were still wrapped around Klaus' neck whilst she sat on his lap.

Her giggles died out as she looked down and frowned at the ropes wrapped around Klaus' body. "This would look very weird if someone were to walk into the room without context." Klaus looked down at them both before laughing himself.

He felt better laughing. He should have known that talking things out with Thea would've made him feel better. He hadn't laughed properly in so long that he'd missed how good it felt. Klaus winked at Thea before looking over to Ben with a smirk on his face, "Oh, but I'm sure  _someone_  would like it if he were in my position instead." Ben glared at Klaus and Klaus just threw his head back and laughed. Thea turned bright red at the insinuation and slapped her brother's chest. "Shut up!"

For the next few minutes, the two giggled at each other and just basked in how nice it felt to be together again. Thea pushed herself off of Klaus and picked up the fallen rope, before carrying on her walk around his chair with a new determination.

"What are you doing?" Klaus asked.

Thea gave him a blank look, "Tying you up like you asked, you weirdo. It's time for you to make a call with lover boy." Klaus understood and gave her a grateful smile.

Once she was done, Thea took a step back to inspect her handiwork. "Not bad," she muttered. "Anyway, I'll leave you to it, give you two some privacy. I hope it goes well, Klausy." Thea gave him a last kiss on his forehead and after getting a nod from Klaus, made her way out of the room and down the stairs, not before muttering a "See you soon, Ben." as she left.

 


	13. Secrets Come Out

Wednesday, 11:15 am (again?)

 

Thea was chilling at the bar in the living room sipping her whisky when Five came crashing onto the bar-top. Thea jumped back in surprise, falling off of her chair and onto the floor. Thea groaned as her stomach wound protested against her sudden movement. Five lay across the bar-top face first, clutching a large briefcase which was covered in dust and filth.

Thea jumped up and helped him down from the bar. "Oh my god, Five are you alright?" Her hands ran all over his body, looking for any visible wounds.

Five groaned and looked towards Thea, "What's the time? The  _exact_  time?" Thea felt a sense of Deja-vu but looked at her watch nonetheless. "11:15 am, why?"

He looked perplexed but shrugged and muttered, "Three hours late but it'll do." His face became grave, "Call the others. Family meeting, now." His voice was deadly serious and so Thea just nodded and ran to get the others, though not without giving him one last worried glance.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

"So, the apocalypse is in three days. The only chance we have to save our world is, well, us."

Five didn't give anybody a chance to talk before he got straight down to business. Thea had managed to round up Allison and Luther from upstairs - she'd found them under some kind of tent doing god knows what - as for Diego she'd sent him a text to come home urgently. Thea had simply released Klaus from his bindings, though she did make note that though he was acting normal around her again, he still seemed a little on edge. Thea just chalked it up to grief. She'd been a wreck for weeks, even months after she lost Ben, so she'd continue to be supportive of Klaus no matter his behaviour.

"The Umbrella Academy," Luther stated.

"Yeah, but with me, obviously," Five drawled. "So if y'all don't get your sideshow acts together and get over yourselves, we're screwed. Who cares if Dad messed us up? Are we gonna let that define us?"

They all shook their heads in response. "No. And to give us a fighting chance to see next week, I've come back with a lead." Five held up a folded piece of paper. "I know who's responsible for the apocalypse."

Allison reached out for the note and Five handed it to her. She opened it and Thea peeked around her side for a better look. The note read:

**Reassignment: Protect Harold Jenkins.**

"Harold Jenkins?" Allison questioned.

"Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?" Diego asked from behind the group. Five stared back at them all before throwing up his hands in dismay, "I don't know, yet. But I do know he's responsible for the apocalypse. So we have to find him. And we have to do it now."

"How is he connected to what's gonna happen?" Luther asked.

"I don't know." Thea raised a brow,  _That's a first. Never thought I'd see the day oh-great-and-knowledgeable Number Five admitted he didn't know something._

"Wait. So you just know his name?" Diego asked incredulously. "That's it? There's probably dozens of Harold Jenkinses in the city."

"Well, we just better start looking, then." Five replied sarcastically.

"Wait. Am I the only one that's sceptical here?" Allison asked, "I mean, how exactly do you know all of this about what's his name?"

Five was clearly agitated and losing his patience. "Harold Jenkins. You know those lunatics in masks who attacked the house?"

"Oh, yeah, I think I remember those guys," Klaus drawled sarcastically. Thea joined in, "Not very hard to forget when I have a hole in my stomach with their name on it." She gave a bitter smile.

"Yeah, the ones that attacked us and kidnapped our brother and sister while  _you_  were out getting drunk." Diego accused Five.

Five gave Thea an apologetic glance before continuing on. She didn't take it personally, he looked pretty stressed. "They were sent by the Temps Commission to stop me from coming back and preventing the end of life on earth."

"The temps what?" Allison asked. Everyone was just mostly confused at Five's ramblings and Thea felt he should just get to the point of his long-winded story.  _Didn't he just stress the importance of the little time we have left yet here he was monologuing?_

"My former employer. They monitor all of time and space to make sure that whatever is supposed to happen...happens." Thea droned Five out at this point, she was all for helping him with his apocalypse plan and didn't need to hear the backstory to it all. She trusted him enough to take his word for it. She blew the hair out of her eyes and glanced at Klaus, who sat on the sofa looking as bored as she felt.

Allison, Luther and Diego all began talking at once, asking Five questions about his story.  _This is why I wanted to just skip the story and go with it. Too boring and confusing._

"Do you know how insane this sounds?" Allison demanded.

"You know what else is insane?" Five asked. "I look like a 13-year old boy. Klaus talks to the dead, Thea reads minds and Luther thinks he's fooling everybody with that overcoat. Everything about us is insane. It always has been."

It was silent for a moment before Thea burst out laughing. They all looked at her incredulously at her outburst, but Thea could feel tears gathering at the corner of her eyes. She was wheezing, "his-his overcoat!" she giggled again, "Oh god Five, who knew you had a sense of humour. That was hilarious." Luther looked around awkwardly at the mention of his attempt at hiding his huge physique under the long coat he wore.

Five carried on, ignoring Thea who was trying to catch her breath, "We didn't choose this life, we're just living it. For the next three days, anyway."

"But the last time we tried to stop it, we all died." Allison cut in. "Why is this time any different?"

"Because this time, I'm here. We have the name of the man responsible. Guys, we actually have the chance of saving the lives of billions of people." He stared at them all in determination.

Allison looked around before shrugging, "Alright. Let's get this bastard."

"You had me at Gerald Jenkins," Diego said seriously. Thea cracked up again at him getting the name wrong. " _Gerald!_  You guys are hilarious today."

Five gave Diego a bland look, "It's  _Harold_  Jenkins."

"Whatever. I already nearly lost two people I care about this week. I'm not risking anyone else." Diego began walking out of the room.

"Luther?" Five asked.

"Yeah, you guys go. I'm gonna stay and go through Dad's files. He may have known more about this than we did. I mean, why else did he want us all back together again?"

Allison took his arm in concern, "No, we should all stick together."

Diego cut across them both, "Let's roll. I know where we can find this asshole. Klaus, Thea, you're with me. Thea stood and walked over to stand next to her brother, while Klaus attempted to talk his way out of leaving.

He began walking out the room with his hand on his stomach and Thea clutched his arm when he passed, giving him an inquiring look. Klaus just nodded back at her,  _I'll be fine, I just need time to myself._  She nodded back, and Klaus leant down to kiss her forehead before making his way upstairs. Thea hoped he took a nap to soothe whatever was bothering him. Although she had a few suspicions in mind, she now trusted he'd come to her when it got too much, after their talk.

Diego left with Five, and Thea went after them, followed closely by Allison.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea sat in the back of the car next to Allison, whilst Five sat in front with Diego in the driver's seat.

"I know this Jenkins dude has to have a record. I just have to get my hands on his file," Diego said whilst scanning his surroundings.

"And your plan is to, what? Waltz in there and just ask for it?" Allison asked.

"I know the station like the back of my hand, sis. I've spent a lot of time inside."

 _Weird flex, but ok._ "That's not exactly something to be proud of, you know." Thea chimed in.

"Whatever. Here's the plan."

"Plan?" Five asked. "I'm just gonna blink in and get the file."

Diego shook his head, "No. You don't know the ins and outs of this place, okay?"

"I literally just did this yesterday.  _My_  yesterday, not  _your_  yesterday." Five pointed out.

"He's got a point," Thea mumbled. Allison nodded from next to her.

"Listen to me.  _You_  are not going in there." Diego said. "I made a call, that's what a leader does. He leads."

Thea snorted at his comment.  _Whatever you say, dude._

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea and Five leant against the wall as they waited for Diego. Allison was making a call from the payphone in front of them to who Thea assumed was Vanya.

_"Things have gotten so messed up. And...all I ever wanted was to be a good sister to you. Guess I pretty much failed at that. But you need to call me. Okay? I love you, sis."_

Thea felt for Allison, she really did. Although she felt bad for how the others often treated Vanya as children, she could also see it from Allison's perspective. The two girls had nothing in common. Allison had always been interested in more girly topics - boys, clothes, celebrities - whereas Vanya was the total opposite. She was more interested in her music and keeping to herself. Thea knew that pushing people away was Vanya's way of coping with their childhood; her defence mechanism. But that didn't mean it didn't also affect Allison, because whenever Allison  _did_  go to Vanya to play or chat, she'd been pushed away by the emotionally guarded girl.

Thea felt for them both because they were equally to blame for their stunted relationship but neither could do anything to overcome it.

"Anything?" Five's voice brought her from her thoughts. Diego had come walking back to where they stood, a file in his hands. Allison grabbed the file from behind him and Thea jumped over to see what it said inside.

Inside was a sheet of information but at the top, a picture was clipped in of Vanya's friend, Leonard. Thea frowned at the sight of Leonard. Why would he be in a police file on Harold Jenkins?

"Why's Leonard in Harold Jenkins' file?" she asked.

Allison looked startled at her comment, "You know Leonard?" Thea just shrugged. "Not really, but I spoke to him a little when I ran after Vanya this morning. He seemed nice. Even knew my old code name."

Diego, Allison and Five frowned at this information. Allison looked back down at the file before exclaiming, "Holy shit."

"What?"

Her face was grave, "Harold Jenkins  _is_  Leonard Peabody."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

After Allison's shocking discovery, the four of them had driven straight to the address listed in Harold Jenkins' file.

"Be careful, okay? We don't know what Peabody's capable of." Allison warned them all.

"Yeah, he didn't seem dangerous when I first saw him. Looked kinda scrawny," Diego muttered.

"He seemed sweet," Thea chimed in. She didn't want to jump to conclusions about Vanya's friend, but she was slightly uneasy with the whole situation.

Five ran to catch up with them all as they made their way up the front lawn and to the doorstep. "Yeah, well, so are most serial killers and murderers. I mean, look at him." Allison replied, gesturing to Five.

"Good point. So, what's this guy want with Vanya?"

"I don't know," Five said, "how about we ask him after we kill him?"

Thea was making her way up the front steps when Five spatial jumped away and Diego threw himself through the glass of the door. Thea was bewildered as she slowly walked up the steps before reaching the door. She was about to try the knob when Five opened it for her. She thanked him quietly before walking inside. "You know, the door was unlocked." Diego groaned as he lay flat on the floor, surrounded by broken glass.

"Yeah well, my way works just fine. Spread out." He got up from the floor, "Yell if you, uh...you know, you're in trouble."

"Ah, inspiring leadership." Five mocked. Thea nudged him in the side, but she had difficulty holding her laughter in. Five winked at her before he started looking around the house.

Allison took Thea's arm, "Let's check up here, okay?" Thea nodded and followed her up the stairs. They reached a hallway and Thea could see a bathroom at the end and a bedroom. She peeked into the room but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Allison tapped Thea's shoulder and pointed above her. "Give me a hand?"

Thea saw a little piece of rope leading up the attic and nodded her agreement. Allison grabbed Thea's midsection and lifted her upwards, so she could grab onto the string and open the latch. Once the ladder came down, Allison walked to the top of the stairs and shouted for Five and Diego. "Guys, you need to see this."

After they'd all made their way up into the attic, all Thea could see was old Umbrella Academy memorabilia. There were posters lining the walls with her sibling's eyes scratched out on every-one. She noticed with some trepidation that her own had been left intact. Thea saw a close-up poster of a younger Klaus and bit her lip nervously at the sight of his eyes scratched out furiously.

"All our faces are burnt off," Allison commented. "Well, all of us except Thea..." she finished nervously. Thea was glad she wasn't the only one unnerved by this fact. Diego walked over to a shelf where small figurines of Allison, Luther, Diego, Five, Klaus and Ben sat, all their heads had been burnt down and the plastic melted in a grotesque fashion. "Well, that's not creepy..."

Thea walked over and delicately picked up what she guessed was Ben's figure - if the tentacles coming from the figure's body was any indication - and felt sick at it's mutilated state. Diego saw how unnerved Thea was at the figurines and put a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"Uh, guys, that's not all that's creepy." Five's voice brought them out of their investigating. The three of them walked over to where Five stood, hunched over a corner of the room and Thea felt bile rise in her throat.

On a shelf of its own, Thea's figurine stood, head in-tact and cleaner than the others which had been covered in a layer of dust. Her old code-name, 'The Divine' was written above the shelf, and a few of her posters were pinned up around the shelf. The one that stuck out most to Thea was of a younger her, stood next to a grinning boy wearing a home-made Umbrella Academy mask. A boy she recognised from a memory she'd thought long-forgotten.

"Holy shit," Diego muttered. "What kind of sick fascination does he have with Thea?"

Five narrowed his gaze on the photo of the two younger kids and turned to look at Thea, "When was this taken?" he asked. Diego and Allison took a closer look at the photo and then back at Thea.

Thea took a deep breath before recounting the memory from years ago, one she could hardly remember if not for the weirdness of it...

_The Hargreeves children were all seated in the car as they pulled up outside their house and they saw all the crowds surrounding either side. Many of them held up Umbrella Academy posters and comic books in their hands, cheering._

_A young boy who wore a home-made Umbrella Academy mask was stood at the front, holding a large bag and an old, beat-up camera hung around his neck._

_As Diego and Luther got out of the car, followed by Allison, the young boy began to try jumping over the barrier separating the children and the crowd. Ben and Klaus were next to leave the car, and as Thea followed them she felt her arm being grabbed from behind. She turned to look at whoever grabbed her, bewildered. She saw a boy, around the same age as her wearing a similar mask to her own - albeit one that was clearly cut out and made from paper._

_Klaus came up to them both and grabbed the boys arm, making him let go of his sister, while Ben hovered behind them both. "Hey, you're not supposed to be here," he said._

_The boy stuttered, "I-It's just, I'm your biggest fan, all you guys." The boy looked starstruck and nervous and Thea felt bad for him. She didn't agree with his actions, and grabbing her wasn't a very good way to make a good impression, but he looked harmless enough._

_She turned towards Klaus, "It's okay, he's just a little excited." Klaus gave her a dubious look before walking back towards the house with Ben and the others. He knew his sister could take care of herself if the boy tried anything._

_Thea turned back to the boy and gave him a sheepish grin, "Sorry about him, overprotective twin and all." The boy had a large grin on his face as she spoke, but it soon disappeared when Sir Hargreeves came up behind Thea and pointed back towards the crowd. "Get back behind the barricade," he demanded harshly._

_The boy looked terrified but continued on regardless. Thea was a little impressed, it took a lot of guts to stand up to someone intimidating like Reginald Hargreeves. "It's just, I was born on the same day as the Academy kids. I think I'm like them, I must be. I haven't quite figured out what my power is...yet. Maybe with your help, we can find out." His voice sounded desperate and Thea cringed at the whole situation. She knew her Father and knew he wouldn't go easy on the young boy in front of him._

_Hargreeves knelt down to the boy's level, one hand gripping Thea's shoulder tightly. "You have no power. You never will have power. Now, go home." He pointed his cane towards the street in dismissal._

_The boy began to beg, "No, please. You have to let me stay, I came all this way. Please don't make me go back." Thea was worried at his begging, why didn't he want to go home? Did he not like it there?_

_Hargreeves drew up to his full height and put on a false cheery expression, "A little word of advice, my boy. Not everyone in this world can be powerful. Chasing something unattainable is a recipe for a lifetime of disappointment and resentment. So get off my property." Thea saw what her Father planned to do and swiftly stepped in between the two and gave her Father a charming smile._

_"Father, I'm sure he'd be willing to politely leave if asked. How about I take it from here?" Thea looked at her Father and subtly willed him to agree. She knew he'd rather not cause a scene and that made it easier for Thea to twist his thoughts towards leaving the boy and heading inside. Hargreeves huffed in dismissal and turned to leave. "See to it, Number Zero."_

_Thea turned to the boy and gave him an apologetic look, "I'm sorry about that. He's like that with everybody, don't take it personally. You said you haven't found your power yet, but maybe bravery and determination are yours. I mean, standing up to the old man like that was pretty brave." Thea knew it sounded cheesy, but she just wanted the boy to feel better about himself, especially after her Father's harsh words._

_The boy looked at Thea in awe and she noticed the camera hanging around his neck. "Hey, how about we take a picture before you go? I mean, you did say you came all the way over here, right?" The boy grinned brightly at her suggestion and Thea felt relief that she'd managed to make him focus on something happier. The boy picked up his large camera and turned it to face them both. Thea wrapped an arm around his shoulder and grinned at the camera, before the shutter went off, capturing the moment._

_The boy looked down at his camera and back up at Thea. "Number Zero! Hurry up now, we don't have all day to waste!" Hargreeves' voice shouted from the front door. Thea smiled at the boy before whispering, "Just keep practising your power. Determination is a great thing to have." With that said, she turned and ran towards the Academy doors, back into her home._

_The young Harold Jenkins stood clutching his camera as her words rang in his mind. 'Determination is a great thing to have.' He knew what he had to do._

_ End of Flashback _

 

Five, Allison and Diego were shocked at her story. Five had already disappeared at that point in time so he never even knew. Whereas Allison and Diego could vaguely remember, as interactions like that happened a lot when they were younger and so they all kind of blurred into one.

Thea looked away from the photo, and the reminder it brought with it, feeling her heart sink with guilt at what she might have unknowingly encouraged. Her words might have encouraged a young boy to murder his father and now he was - according to Five - the person responsible for the apocalypse. Not to mention he was somehow related to Vanya, although Thea had a sinking feeling that Vanya wasn't his real goal.

Allison seemed to agree, "This was never about Vanya. This was about us."

Before they could talk on this revelation any further, Five gasped and fell to the floor clutching his side. "Five-" Diego, Allison and Thea dropped to the floor worriedly. Allison removed his jacket and they could see a patch of blood from underneath his shirt and jumper. She lifted his shirt up and a bleeding wound was revealed. Thea winced at the sight of the untreated wound as it looked slightly infected.

"Jesus, Five. Why didn't you say anything?" Diego asked.

"We have to keep going. So close." Five choked out.

"That won't make a difference if you die on us, idiot." Thea reminded him. Five didn't hear as he had passed out from the pain. Allison and Diego called his name in worry. Diego looked at both his sisters, "We need to get him home. Now."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Diego and Allison were carrying an unconscious Five while Thea ran ahead to the bathroom for an emergency medical kit they kept stocked at all times. She passed Grace on the way and shouted to her, "Mom! Five's downstairs bleeding! Diego and Allison are with him, please help!" before continuing to run towards the bathroom.

When she made it back, Grace had Five laid out on his bed as she took the medical equipment Thea had brought and got to work. Thea sat beside his bed, holding his hand in worry. She could hear Diego and Allison mumbling from the doorway but left them to it, too worried about her brother laying on the bed, unconscious.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the spam of updates! I'd written like, 5 chapters and completely forgot to upload them on here as well as Wattpad and so I just had to do them all at once.
> 
> Also, over on Wattpad, I got a message from someone linking me to a person who had completely copied my story and re-uploaded it as their own. I messaged them and it's now been deleted, but I'm still so disappointed and quite upset that somebody thought it was okay to steal someone's hard work like that.   
> Please don't do this, it's just unnecessary and I'm sure everyone is able to write their own story that they can be proud of. Just don't steal someone's work.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the influx of chapters to binge on! As always, comments are welcomed as I love hearing what people think :)


	14. Missing Sister

The light shining in from the window woke Thea from her slumber. She winced at the ache in her neck from sleeping on an angle and her arm was sore from being draped over Five's bedside. She gently removed her hand from Five's and kissed his forehead. His brow creased in his sleep and Thea let out a quiet laugh.

She stood up and stretched, groaning in relief when her back popped. Thea decided to leave Five sleeping to recover and went in search of Klaus. She hadn't seen him since before she, Allison, Diego and Five went out yesterday and she wanted to make sure he was okay.

Thea soon found Klaus - or rather heard him - when she turned the corner and saw him walking down the hallway ringing a bell in his hands and singing, "Wakey, wakey. Eggs and bakey."

"Klaus, what  _are_  you doing?" Thea asked, making her presence known.

Klaus turned to his sister and grinned, "Calling a family meeting."

"What for?" she asked.

"I'll tell you with everyone else, can't be bothered to explain it all twice." Klaus linked their arms and pulled her down towards Luther's room. Thea hummed along to Klaus' singing and they both saw Luther stumble out of his room shirtless, only a blanket around his waist.

"Oh, here's the man. Someone pulled a disappearing act last night. What mischief did you get into?" Klaus asked. Luther looked dazed. His door was wide open and from inside Thea could see a woman sat up in his bed, clearly naked. Thea's brows rose in shock and she nudged Klaus and pointed the woman out.

"Maybe I should ask her. Hello!" he chuckled and waved. The woman waved back.

Luther hurried to close his door. "Oh, come on, don't be so shy, big guy. You needed it!" Klaus laughs. "Not a lot of ladies on the moon, I assume." Thea snorted at that.

"Klaus, enough." Luther snapped. His face showed clear anxiety and Thea raised a brow in wonder. Klaus noticed too, and he chuckled nervously, "Wait. Was this, like...Is this your..."

Luther didn't need to answer for his expression said it all. The twins were both shocked. "No way," Klaus exclaimed. He did a little dance and celebrated, the bell ringing as he raised his arms. "Whoo. He popped his cherry!"

Luther turned away in embarrassment and frustration. Klaus turned and gasped dramatically, "Now you're gonna have to marry her!"

Thea snorted, "That's not how it works."

"Would you keep your voice down!" Luther hissed.

"Hey, you know, I remember my first...Oh no, I don't." He chuckled. Thea's face scrunched up at that, "Ew Klaus, I don't want to hear it." Klaus smirked at his sister, "Oh don't act all innocent, dear sister of mine, I know you're just as bad." Thea decided to get back at him and smiled smugly, "If you want to hear about my first time so badly, why don't you ask Ben? I'm sure he'd be willing to share."

Thea smirked at Klaus' disgusted expression and laughed when he put his hands to his ears and began yelling to drown at what his sister just said.

"Oh god, I think I'm scarred by that visual," he muttered, rubbing his eyes furiously.

Thea snorted at his dramatics and looked back at Luther. He was watching the two with furrowed brows and glazed eyes. Thea wasn't sure he could even follow their conversation. Luther had enough and snapped at them, "What is it?"

Klaus dropped his arms and looked to Luther, "Important family business. Meet us downstairs, okay?" Klaus linked arms with Thea again and walked away. Luther watched them both go, still confused.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea sat across from Luther, who had his hood up and looked ill. Klaus was pouring coffee into everyone's cups and Thea noticed he put one in front of an empty chair. She raised her brow and whispered "Ben?"

' _Yeah. I'm here, right next to you.'_  Ben said, and Thea looked at the empty spot next to her and smiled at what she could only assume was where his face was. Five came walking into the kitchen still wearing his blue pyjamas. He grabbed the coffee out of Luther's hands and sat down next to him.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you," Thea said. Five ignored her and took a drink. He made a disgusted face. "Jesus. Who do I gotta kill to get a decent cup of coffee?"

"Told you," Thea mumbled.

Luther sighed as he rested his face on his arm, his form hunched over the table. "Can we get started?"

"Anyone seen the others? Diego? Allison? No?" Klaus asked.

"We were with them yesterday," Thea said, gesturing to herself and Five. "We went to check out Harold Jenkins' house. Turns out he's got some lowkey obsession with the Umbrella Academy or something. He had all our old memorabilia."

"More like he has a creepy obsession over you," Five drawled.

At Klaus' worried look and Luther's inquisitive one, Thea explained. "I remember meeting him when we were younger, he was a massive fan and Dad just dismissed him, as did most of you guys. I may or may not have been  _too_ nice to him...none of my posters or figures were destroyed like the others."

"It was more like a shrine," Five chimed in. Thea glared at him, "Shut up. You're not helping."

Klaus looked disturbed by the news while Ben's eyes narrowed at the thought of some random guy having a shrine dedicated to Thea.  _His_  Thea.

Luther got sick of the silence and coughed, "What was it that you wanted to tell us, Klaus?"

Klaus jumped and span to face them all. "Oh yes. Now, listen up. There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna spit it out."

' _This is a bad idea,'_ Ben drawled. Thea nodded, "I agree." Luther and Five gave her a weird look and Thea turned pink at having spoken to seemingly nobody. "Probably shouldn't reply around others..." she mumbled. She heard Ben laugh and shot a glare in his direction.

"Klaus?" Luther prompted.

"I conjured Dad last night," Klaus admitted. Thea was shocked, and Luther stared at Klaus in disbelief. Five was just intrigued.

"You said you hadn't been able to conjure anybody in years," Luther pointed out.

"Ah, yes, I know, but I'm completely sober. Ta-da! I got clean, yesterday, I had to talk to someone special and then ended up having this...conversation with dear old Daddy himself."

At the reminder of Klaus' love Dave, Thea bites her lip and laid her right hand on the table next to the empty chair, her palm facing upwards. She knew Ben couldn't hold her hand, but she liked the thought of it nonetheless.

Klaus snorted at the look of adoration on Ben's face as he saw Thea's hand next to him. He reached out to touch her, but his hand went straight through hers. His smile was sad, but he laid his hand next to Thea's anyway.

Luther sighed and completely dismissed Klaus' claims and asked for the aspirin. Thea narrowed her eyes at her two brothers and slapped her left hand on the table to get their attention. "Don't be assholes and listen to what he's got to say for once, will you?"

Klaus gave her a thankful look. Five sighed, "Sorry, Thea." Klaus pulled an affronted face at Five's apology to his sister and not himself. Five ignored it. "Okay, fine. I'll play. What did the old man have to say?"

"Well, he gave me the usual lecture about my appearance and failures in life. Yada yada yada. No surprise there. Even the afterlife couldn't soften a hardass like Dad, right? But he did mention something about his murder, or lack thereof, because..."

' _Wait for it'_

Thea gasped at what she saw in Klaus' mind.

"-he killed himself," Klaus finished. He looked down in false sadness.

Luther stared at Klaus and rolled his eyes, "I don't have time for your games, Klaus."

Thea wanted to defend her brother, but she was honestly too stunned to speak. Hargreeves killed himself? Just to get them all back together?  _Did the old bastard not know how to pick up a bloody phone? Why'd he have to be so god damn dramatic?_

"Dad wouldn't just kill himself," Luther denied, he stood up in frustration.

"You said it yourself. He was depressed. Holed up in his office and room all day and night," Five contemplated the idea.

"No. There weren't any signs. Suicidal people exhibit certain tendencies, strange behaviours."

Klaus scoffed, "Like sending someone to the moon for no reason?"

"I swear to god, Klaus, if you're lying..." Luther threatened.

"He's not," Thea denied. When they both turn to her in question she pointed to her temple reminding them she can tell if he's lying. Not that Thea doubted him for even a minute.

"Master Klaus is correct," Pogo said as he walked into the room. Luther turned around and his face fell with the confirmation. "Regretfully...I helped Master Hargreeves enact his plan. So did Grace."

"What?" Luther asked in disbelief.

"It was a difficult choice for the both of us. More difficult than you could ever know. Prior to your father's death, Grace's programming was adjusted so that she was incapable of administering first aid on that fateful night."

"That sick bastard," Thea seethed in fury. She knew he was willing to hurt others for his own gain, but to make it seem like Grace had killed him all for some stupid murder mystery?  _Sick bastard, indeed._

"Your father hoped that being back here, solving it together, would reignite your desire to be a team again." Pogo said.

Thea bristled at that comment.  _The nerve of him._ She scoffed and when they all turned to look at her, she clenched he jaw in anger. "Reignite our desire to be a team? What kind of bullshit is that?" Luther looked shocked at her outburst while Pogo sighed in sadness. "We haven't been a team since we were teenagers and that's  _his own damn fault_ ," Thea grit out.

' _Calm down. I know you're mad but, please, calm down, love.'_  Thea took a deep breath at Ben's words and sat back on her chair with her arms crossed. She gave Pogo a look, "Whatever. Carry on explaining this stupid plan of his."

"Bring us together, to what end?" Five asked.

"To save the world, of course," Pogo replied.

Klaus found it just as ridiculous as his sister and let out a bemused chuckle, "All right, then."

Luther was looking down in anger, "First the moon mission and now this. You watched me search for answers and said nothing." Pogo looked down in regret. "Anything else you want to share, Pogo? Any other damn secrets?" Luther accused.

"Hey, Luther, calm down."

"No, I won't calm down. We've been lied to by the one person in this family we all trusted."

"It was your father's dying wish, Master Luther," Pogo pleaded. "I had no choice."

Luther didn't agree, "There's always choice." He stared at Pogo before walking out.

"He's kinda got a point," Thea pointed out. "Not that I blame you or anything, Pogo. But even you have to admit it's a pretty fucked up wish." Pogo gave Thea a sad look and sighed, following Luther and leaving the room.

Five had his head in his hands and sighed. "I gotta think." He turned and spatial jumped away, leaving just Thea, Klaus and Ben in the kitchen.

Klaus took a seat opposite Thea and Ben.

"That went well."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

"-but I don't get it, why would he want to be in  _Gryffindor_ of all houses?" Thea exclaimed, throwing her arms up in defeat. Her head was laid on Klaus' thighs as he attempted to knit above her. They were both laid on Klaus' bed in their room and Thea was using the downtime to talk to Ben - something she'd missed doing more than anything. As long as Klaus paid attention to what Ben was saying, Thea could hear his replies through his mind, meaning they'd finally been able to speak more than two sentences to each other. They were currently debating the first Harry Potter book.

 _'What's wrong with Gryffindor? The house of the brave and chivalrous?'_ Ben asked.

Thea snorted, "More like the house of the idiotic and brash."

Ben laughed at her reply.  _'You wouldn't date a Gryffindor then? I'm offended, love.'_

" _You're_ offended? Ben, I'm sorry but you're, like, the epitome of a Hufflepuff." She laughed at Ben's offended noise. She made a cooing noise, "Aww don't worry, I'd still date you. Even if you were in Hufflepuff."

Klaus laughed at their conversation and Ben's expression. "So where would I go then, sis?"

Thea looked up at her brother in consideration. "Well, not Ravenclaw. No offence, but you have zero concentration span. Hmm, you're too out-there to really fit Slytherin and I guess you are pretty brash..." she winked.

Klaus laughed at her, "So I'm in the house of the 'idiotic and brash' then?"

"Well, the poor Hufflepuffs wouldn't know what hit them if you went there, so I guess so."

Klaus snorted, "So where does that leave you?"

Thea gave him a blank look, "Ravenclaw, of course."

' _Because you're creative and like to learn?'_ Ben asked.

"No. Because I'm smart as fuck, duh." It was silent for a moment before all three of them burst into laughter.

Five stood at the doorway and just watched them laugh, he almost didn't want to disturb their peaceful moment. He sighed before knocking and walking in, "Get up. We're leaving."

Thea sat up and saw Five. "Where?" she asked.

"To save the world," he replied.

"Oh, is that all?" Klaus drawled sarcastically.

"So, Pogo said Dad killed himself to get us all back together, right?" Five spoke to himself, "It had me thinking. I had to jump to the future to figure out when it happened, but Dad, he can't time travel. So how'd the crazy bastard know to kill himself a week before the end of the world?"

Thea shrugged. She'd given up trying to understand what went on in Reginald Hargreeves' twisted mind. Klaus got up and began getting dressed while Thea sat beside him on the bed. Klaus hummed, "Well, you know-"

"Don't answer. That was purely rhetorical." Five cut in.

"Why ask then? If you don't want an answer?" Thea asked him sarcastically.

Five ignored her question and carried on. "Truth is, our whole lives, he's been telling us we'd save the world from the apocalypse."

"Yeah, but I always thought that he just said that to scare us into doing the dishes," Klaus admitted.

"Me too." Both Thea and Five replied at the same time. "But what if the old man really knew what was going to happen?" Five asked.

"Yeah, but how? As you said, he couldn't time travel." Thea pointed out.

"No idea," Five sighed. "But the fact remains, his fakakta plan worked. We all came home. Since we're here we might as well save the world."

Klaus sniffed a dirty shirt and Thea gave him a disgusted look before reaching into her bedside table and offering one of her old ones. Klaus was slim enough that it fit him fine, and Thea wore the top as a young teen meaning it was small to fit her non-existent curves as a kid. Klaus smiled before putting it on. "Oh yeah? What, like, the three of us?"

"Well, ideally, no...but I have Thea too, so we'll be good," Five admitted.

They walked out of the room and saw Diego running towards them before turning into his room. "Where have you been?" Five asked.

"Jail."

"And why exactly have you been in jail?" Thea drawled. Couldn't anyone in her family have a normal social life? How was it that Thea could hear her brother say he'd been to jail, and she hardly reacted anymore?

"Long story. Where's Luther?" Diego asked.

"Haven't seen him since breakfast," Five replied.

"Yeah, two days till the world ends and he picks a great time to drop off the grid," Klaus remarked.

"What's going on? Why do you need Luther?" Thea asked Diego.

Diego came back out of his room, clipping his straps around his chest.

"Allison is in danger."

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

The four of them had driven up to a bar, and once making their way inside, saw Luther sitting on his own, nursing a drink.

"Look. Trying a little hair of the dog, are we? Hm?" Klaus asked as they made their way over to Luther's empty table.

"Leave me alone."

Diego turned to Thea, Klaus and Five, "Give us a minute."

Klaus huffed a sigh and led Thea and Five over to the corner of the bar, "Come on. Maybe they'll brood each other to death," he said. Thea took a seat at the bar whilst Klaus stood next to her and Five took a seat a little away from them both.

Thea curiously looked around the room at the patrons of the bar. It was so dark in here and it was such a lovely day outside, why would they waste it here? Thea enjoyed drinking, but even she wouldn't want to stay cooped up in this dingy place. She caught the eye of a man sitting further down the bar and smiled politely. The man looked her up and down before gesturing her over, inviting her for a drink. Thea turned a little pink at the attention and politely shook her head, but Klaus noticed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving the man a glare that screamed 'off limits'. "Look like somebody has an admirer," Klaus muttered distastefully.

Thea muffled her laugh, not wanting the man to think she was laughing at him. "Stop being so overprotective, Klausy." She gave him a playful jab.

Klaus turned his head to her so only she could hear what he was saying. "Yeah, well, Ben looks positively murderous right now," he teased.

Thea couldn't hold in her laugh and giggled at the thought of Ben being jealous of some random man at a bar. "Yeah, well, you should both know I'm not interested. And  _Ben_  should know I've never been interested in anybody but him."

Klaus looked shocked at her admission, "Anyone? Ever? Even after, you know..." Thea knew what he was hinting at and had no shame in admitting she'd never been with anybody but Ben. She shook her head, "No, never. Only him," he admitted.

Klaus was stunned but gave his sister a tight hug. He knew she'd been in love with Ben like he had been with Dave, but he hadn't realised she'd never tried dating again even after Ben had died. Thea hadn't even known Ben was hanging around Klaus and it'd been years since his death, yet she'd still not moved on. Klaus honestly hadn't known whether she had or not during his time doing drugs and being apart from her, and never thought to ask. When Klaus had brought it up once in passing, Ben had said he wouldn't have minded - as it wasn't exactly fair to stop her when he wasn't even there - but Klaus knew he was lying. Seeing her with anybody else would've hurt him, but Klaus knew he'd be happy for her regardless because he loved her.

' _I love you.'_ Thea heard Ben murmur from somewhere behind her. She gave a goofy grin and told him she loved him too.

Klaus couldn't help but ruin the serious moment, "You know, he has the smuggest grin on his face right now." Thea snorted and smacked Klaus playfully on the chest, "Shut up, both of you. You're as bad as each other, honestly..."

Thea didn't finish her sentence as she saw Luther running out of the bar and almost ripping the door off its hinges, Diego hot on his heels. Thea shot out of her seat and followed them with Klaus and Five.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

"Hey. Can you go any faster?" Luther asked.

Five gave Luther a blank look, "Ask me again, and I'll burn you with the cigarette lighter," he warned.

Thea was watching the scenery pass from outside the window. She was leaning against Klaus who sat in the middle seat in the back of the car. Thea was on his right, while Diego sat on his left. Luther had claimed the front passenger seat and Five was driving. They'd been driving for what seemed like hours. The lovely weather that Thea had enjoyed before arriving at the bar, had turned to night and with the darkness came a chill.

Five pulled up and the van stopped, and Thea could see they'd arrived at a log cabin in the middle of the woods.  _Not creepy at all. Let's just walk into this obvious murder cabin like some cliché horror movie._

They all got out the car, Luther running into the cabin calling out for Allison. Thea felt unnerved when he got no reply.  _Wasn't she supposed to be here?_  Once Thea and the others reached the door, she could see exactly why her sister hadn't replied and felt her heart drop at the sight of Allison laid on the floor, blood pooling out of the cut on her neck. Thea gasped out her sister's name and turned to cry into Klaus' chest.

Klaus held Thea tightly as he watched Luther desperately cradle Allison to his chest, her eyes were wide open in fright and pain. Thea's sobs and Luther's cries were all that could be heard in the cabin as they all stood there in shock and sorrow at Allison's almost lifeless body.

 


	15. Difficult Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the notes at the end of this chapter, I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on what to do :)

After finding Allison bleeding out in the cabin, Thea and the boys dragged her body into the car and drove as fast as possible back to the Academy. Thea couldn’t stop shaking in nervousness and anxiety. She was terrified of losing her sister and was dazed the whole trip back.

Pulling up to the Academy, Thea ran inside ahead of the boys – who were carrying Allison – to shout for Pogo and Grace for help. “Mom! Pogo! Help! Allison’s hurt!”

Grace and Pogo came running in and once the boys had brought Allison’s body inside, they all made their way into the room where a stretcher and medical equipment was all set up. Grace was putting pressure onto Allison’s neck to stop the bleeding and she turned to the rest of the siblings who stood around anxiously.

“She’s suffered a severe laceration to her larynx. One of you will need to give blood,” Grace stated.

“I will.” They all chorused without hesitation. Luther pushed his way forward, “I’m doing it.”

Pogo spoke up, “I’m afraid that’s not possible, dear boy.” At Luther’s frustrated look he explained, “Your blood is more compatible with mine.” Thea cringed at the blunt statement and Klaus stepped up next.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I-I got this, big guy. I love needles.” Klaus began slapping his arm to prove his point. Pogo again stepped in, “Master Klaus. Your blood is… how shall I say this? Too polluted.”

Thea opened her mouth to tell them to just let her do it and get on with it but Diego cut her off, “Move. I’ll do it.” He walked up to Grace and as she lifted the needle up, Diego let out a whimper and fainted.

Thea rolled her eyes and pushed her way next to Grace, offering her arm. “We’re wasting time. Quickly.” Grace nodded as she pricked Thea’s arm and began taking the blood instantly. Thea glared at the rest of them, muttering “boys” whilst shaking her head.

She stayed sitting by Allison’s side as the rest of the boys besides Luther wandered off. Klaus kissed Thea’s forehead before walking off upstairs. Thea was beginning to feel dizzy from the blood being taken and decided to take a nap while she could. She knew Grace would wake her up if anything happened and worrying about her sister’s state wasn’t going to do Thea any good. With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and drifted off.

Luther watched his sister sleep, one arm draped over Allison’s bedside as the tube delivering the much-needed blood continued to flow. 

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea had been woken up earlier by Diego, explaining that she’d given enough blood and that the remaining family were talking in the living room – minus Luther. She’d nodded and followed him, feeling drowsy all the way there. 

Once she'd gotten to the living room, Thea had fallen onto the sofa next to Klaus and closed her eyes. Thea didn’t mind giving blood, needles had never bothered her, and it wasn’t painful, but Allison had lost a lot of blood and so Thea was feeling a little lightheaded.

“The bastard that nearly killed our sister’s still out there, with Vanya. We need to go after her.” Diego stated, pacing around the living room.

Five stood up too, “Vanya is not important.” Thea’s eyebrows rose in shock and she gave Five a heartbroken look. “Five, she’s our sister…” she choked out. 

Five sighed and gave her an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right. I mean, Vanya isn’t important in the grand scheme of things. If the apocalypse happens today, she dies along with the other seven billion of us.”

Thea bit her lip at his reply. She knew he was right, and if it weren’t Vanya that was in trouble, Thea would probably think the same way. But it  _was_  her sister that they were talking about, and Thea realised she couldn’t be logical about this, she was too emotionally invested.

“Harold Jenkins is our first priority,” Five reminded them.

Diego looked thoughtful but eventually agreed. Klaus spoke up from beside Thea and she noticed he was biting his nails anxiously. “You guys count me out. I mean, no offence or whatever. I just, kind of feel like this is a lot of pressure for a newly completely sober me…”

Diego and Five looked at him incredulously while Thea was concerned. She placed her arm on his shoulder, “Are you okay, Klaus?”

Klaus glanced at Thea and then back at his two brothers. He tried resolutely not to think about what had just happened upstairs with Ben punching him. He didn’t want to get her hopes up for Ben being able to materialise – something he never even knew he could do – but he also felt ashamed because he’d been tempted to use drugs again, the kind he’d promised Thea he wouldn’t. Because of these mixed emotions, he tried to focus on what was going on, knowing if he didn’t broadcast what he was thinking, Thea wouldn’t hear anything important or feel the need to focus in on his thoughts.

“No, you’re coming,” Diego told him.

“I mean, I think we can all agree that my power’s… I mean, it’s pretty much useless. I’d just be holding you guys back.”

“You’re not useless. And you definitely don’t hold us back,” Thea disagreed.

Diego and Five were still unimpressed, and Five snapped at him. “Klaus get up.”

Klaus’ eyes narrowed at the two. “You can’t make me,” he said petulantly. Thea was confused as to where Klaus’ sudden unwillingness to help came from. Had something happened? She watched the tension heighten between her three brothers and worried about what would happen next.

Diego threw a knife so quickly none of them saw it coming and it pierced the sofa right between Klaus’s legs. Klaus’ face was annoyed, and he lifted his hands in mock surrender. He got off of the sofa reluctantly, “Then again, a little exercise couldn’t hurt.”

Diego went to grab his knife, but Thea beat him to it. She ripped it from the sofa and took a threatening step towards Diego and Five. 

Klaus turned back to see what his sister was doing and saw her pointing the knife at Diego. “If you ever throw one of these at him again, or even think about it, I don’t care if you’re my brother, I’ll shove it straight up your ass. And I won’t need a super power to do it,” she growled out. Diego’s eyebrows rose in shock and he gulped at Thea’s serious expression.

Thea dropped the knife into Diego’s slack grip and patted him on the chest, before walking out the room. The three boys jumped out of their shock and ran after her in a hurry.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea still felt a little bad for threatening Diego earlier, and even though she believed he deserved it for even thinking of throwing a knife at Klaus, she was still regretful. It didn’t matter that Diego had perfect aim and knew how to control his knives better than anybody, what angered Thea was that he even used his ability on Klaus in the first place. She was sure she could’ve convinced Klaus to have come without threatening him. 

 _I guess we’re both sometimes hot-headed._ Thea still remembered letting her emotions get the better of her at their Father’s memorial when Luther and Diego broke Ben’s statue.  _We all make mistakes. For now, let’s just focus on finding Vanya._

Thea was worried for her sister. She felt awful for not being able to tell the kind of person Leonard – or Harold Jenkins – was. Thea knew it wasn’t her fault, she didn’t listen to people’s thoughts out of respect for their privacy, but she couldn’t help but wonder if this all could have been solved if she’d have only known about his duplicity earlier on.

The four of them had made their way to Harold Jenkins’ home only to find him dead on the floor, his body riddled with sharp objects of all kinds. Thea also noticed that he had a bandage covering one of his eyes, something he hadn’t had when she’d first met him.

“It’s not exactly what I was expecting,” Klaus said. He was leaning over the body looking at Jenkins with morbid curiosity.

“Understatement of the year,” Five muttered.

“Vanya isn’t here,” Thea pointed out worriedly. “Where could she be?”

“Let’s get out of here before the cops come,” Diego instructed. He and Klaus began walking out, while Thea and Five stared at the body below them, one in sadness and the other in contemplation. 

Thea felt bad for Harold Jenkins. She knew what he’d done and didn’t condone any of it, especially putting Vanya at risk and hurting Allison. But Thea felt pity for the young boy that she met all those years ago, who'd only wanted to be special. She bit her lip and finally turned away from the dead man.

Five watched his sister struggle with her emotions and when she turned away, he decided to test out his suspicions. He ripped away the gauzing on Jenkins’ eye and pushed the prosthetic eye he’d been carrying into the empty socket.

At Diego’s retching, Thea turned around to see what Five was doing and she cringed in disgust.

“Same eye colour, same pupil size. Guys this is it.” He turned around to face them, “This is the eye I’ve been carrying around for decades. It’s found its rightful home.” 

Five pulled back Jenkins' eyelid and used his fingers to scoop out the eye. Thea squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered at the repulsive squelch it made.

“We got the guy we needed to kill to stop the apocalypse,” Diego said.

“Yay! Let’s go.”

Thea put an arm on Klaus to stop him from leaving and turned to Diego and Five, “But what about Vanya? If Leonard- I mean, if Harold Jenkins is dead, then where is she?”

Five agreed. “She’s right, it can’t be this easy. Look, this is the note I got from the commission. The one that says, ‘Protect Harold Jenkins’ aka Leonard Peabody.” He pulled out the letter he’d shown them before with the assignment on it. “But who killed him? Who did this?”

“I have a crazy idea,” Klaus spoke from behind them. “Crazy, but why don’t we find Vanya…and ask her what happened?” Thea nodded her head in agreement. She wanted to find her sister as soon as possible.

“If Vanya got away from this asshole, she might be headed back to the Academy,” Diego said. Hearing this, Thea pulled on Klaus’ arm to get them moving. “Then what are we waiting for?”

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Once they’d gotten back to the Academy, they’d split up in search of their missing sister. Thea had chosen to search upstairs in all their rooms, especially Vanya’s, but she was having no luck and wondered if her brother’s had done any better. 

Thea had turned around to re-check through the rooms again when she heard a faint voice from downstairs. Thea was about to ignore it – thinking it was one of the boys – but she recognised it as female. Knowing Allison was still sleeping and unable to talk anytime soon, Thea began following the voice that she hoped was her missing sister.

Thea was about to reach the overhead balcony when the voice stopped. She froze in place and tilted her head in confusion, trying to listen for the voice she’d heard only a moment ago. Worried, Thea began making her way down the stairs to an empty entryway. She could hear banging from down the corridor and followed it, her stomach twisting in knots with anxiety.

Thea still had paranoia about someone invading their house after the two hitmen had kidnapped her and Klaus. But Thea had to find her sister, and so despite her nerves, she carried on following the banging coming from behind a door that Thea had never seen before.

Opening it, she saw it led down and made her way down the steps tentatively. She could still hear the dull banging and hurried her pace. When Thea turned the corner she saw Luther, Diego and Klaus crowded around what Thea thought was a vault.

“What’s going on?” she asked weakly.

At her voice all the men turned around quickly, Luther was grave whilst Klaus and Diego both had looks of disbelief on their faces. Thea couldn’t see what they were looking at and so she pushed her way through only to freeze in horror. Vanya,  _her sister_ , was locked inside the vault and was crying in distress as she banged against the small window.

Thea stumbled forward and put her hand against the glass, looking at her sister’s crying face in shock. “W-what’s going on? Why is Vanya in there?” Thea heard Luther grunt in frustration before explaining his suspicions.

“You locked up our sister because you think she has powers?” Diego asked in disbelief.

Thea couldn’t look away from Vanya’s terrified eyes that were spilling with tears. Her throat was dry, and she struggled to catch her breath as she took everything in. Her hand mirrored Vanya’s on the glass window, desperate to touch and comfort her distraught sister.

“No, I know she does. Pogo told me. He’s always known, and so did Dad.” Luther defended himself.

“Why would they hide this from us?” Diego asked. “I mean, am I the only one that didn’t know this existed?”

“He hid so much from us,” Klaus whispered.

“He hid it because he was afraid. Of her.”

Diego and Klaus began denying Luther’s claims, but Thea ignored them all. She focused on her sister and knew she had to do something. Luther wasn’t thinking straight. He was worried about Allison and was lashing out at Vanya. Thea didn’t care if Vanya had powers, she didn’t care if their Father was afraid of her. Their Father was a spineless coward in Thea’s opinion if he'd built this to lock up a child for something they couldn’t help. She was their  _sister_  and she was  _afraid_. It wasn’t fair to lock her up like an animal when she clearly couldn’t control her powers and was terrified.

Thea glanced at her brothers discreetly and saw they were all arguing over what to do. She lowered her hands slowly to not bring attention to herself and began calmly turning the hatch door.

Vanya was looking at Thea in hope and gratitude and Thea gave her a reassuring smile as she continued to slowly turn the wheel.

Thea let out a yell of surprise when she was suddenly ripped away from the door. Luther’s gigantic arms wrapped around Thea’s tiny frame, caging her in as he pulled her away from the door. Thea began screaming and hitting his arms. 

“Let me go! Let go! Luther, I swear I’ll kill you, let me go!” she turned to Vanya in desperation, seeing her sister crying even harder at the sight of Thea kicking and screaming. “Vanya! Luther please, let me get her out!”

Luther held her tightly as Diego and Klaus watched on in shock. Neither of them had noticed Thea opening the door, and they could see that she’d opened it halfway before Luther had caught her. Thea turned to Klaus in despair, “Klaus! Klaus please, help me! Let her out!”

Klaus rushed to Luther and tried pulling his arms off of his sister, “Hey, man, let her go. Come on, let her go.”

Thea turned her gaze to Diego who was watching them all, torn between helping or keeping Vanya inside for now. Thea’s eyes narrowed in on him and she wrapped her mind around his own in total control. Her highly-emotional state only intensified the control over him. “ ** **Diego. Open it. Now****.”

Diego turned robotically towards the vault door and lifted his arms to begin turning the hatch. Vanya was still crying behind the glass window and watched her brother hold her sister tightly as she screamed and hit him, trying to get Vanya out.

Diego had the hatch wheel almost all the way turned when Luther suddenly hit Thea over the head, knocking her out. Her connection with his mind snapped and Diego let go of the wheel in shock. Klaus let out a cry as he saw his sister, who lay slumped over in Luther’s arms. He pushed at Luther and snatched his sister's body away, cradling her in his own arms. Diego gave Luther a scathing glare at having hit Thea unconscious.

“What the hell did you do?” Klaus yelled.

“Luther, what the hell, man?” Diego asked in anger.

Luther gazed down at Thea in regret, but his eyes were determined as he looked back up at Vanya. She was watching Thea in horror as she lay in Klaus’ arms, out-cold. She began hitting the glass window even harder and crying out for Thea.

“It had to be done. She was going to let Vanya out.” Luther tried to justify himself. Diego and Klaus sent him matching glares. The three of them heard footsteps approaching from behind and turned to see Allison.

Allison’s neck was wrapped in a bandage and her skin was sweaty and pale, but as she looked past Luther at the scene in front of her, she seemed to turn even paler.

She looked at Klaus who had Thea wrapped up in his arms on the floor and took out her pen and notepad.  _What happened?_  It read.

Before Luther could defend his actions, Diego cut in. “This idiot thought locking our sister because she had powers was a bright idea. Then continued this brilliance and knocked out Thea when she tried letting Vanya free.”

Allison turned to Luther incredulously and gave him a look of disappointment.  _Let her go,_  she wrote.

Luther shook his head in denial, “I can’t do that. She hurt you.”

Allison looked down and began writing on her notepad again, the rest of them could only watch and wait.  _My fault._

“I’m sorry, but she’s staying put,” Luther said.

Allison shook her head in denial and went to walk past Luther, but he stopped her with a hand. She glared at him and tried again. When Luther stepped in her way, she began pushing and hitting his chest in anger.

“She stays put,” Luther said sternly.

Diego began to walk away, and Klaus followed, carrying his sister’s small body bridal-style.

Allison continued to hit Luther in frustration and let out choked sobs as she was feeling lightheaded from her neck wound. Luther began leading her away and Allison allowed him, looking back to Vanya who continued to cry inside the vault as she watched them leave.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Thea woke up to a headache almost as bad as the time she and Klaus got kidnapped. She’d joked about feeling like she’d been punched by Luther last time, only this time she actually  _had_  been.

‘ _He felt a sudden desire to find out what it was that was so strange about the woman.’_ Thea could hear Ben’s calming voice and it instantly soothed her pounding skull. She kept her eyes closed and just listened to his voice.

‘ _In the first place, she appeared to be a girl quite young, and she was walking in the great heat bareheaded and with no parasol or gloves, waving her arms about in an absurd way.’_  Thea smiled fondly at Ben’s voice, he was reading one of her favourite books, one that they’d both enjoyed discussing when they had free-time as teenagers. Thea sighed in content and opened her eyes.

She recognised the ceiling of her room and knew that if she could hear Ben, then Klaus must also be here with her. Thea realised Ben had stopped talking and turned to face where she guessed his voice had been coming from. “Why did you stop? Keep going, I like listening to your voice,” she said honestly.

Klaus snorted from his bed across the room, “Don’t look at her like that, it’s making me sick with the sweetness of it all.” Thea giggled at her brother's words and grinned goofily.

“What happened? I mean, I remember Luther hitting me but what…Vanya!” Thea gasped out her sister’s name and shot up from her bed. She put a hand out to steady herself after the dizziness kicked in from sitting up so quickly.

Klaus stopped what he was doing and walked to sit on Thea’s bed. Ben was sat on the other side of her. Thea turned to Klaus with a worried expression, “But Klaus, what about Vanya? We can’t keep her there! It isn’t fair, she must be so scared…” she choked out. Klaus took her hand and rubbed it with his thumb soothingly. He was debating on whether or not to tell Thea what had happened with Ben. He was worried in case she wanted proof, and he didn’t know how to do it again.

He looked past his sister and caught Ben’s eye. Ben nodded at the silent question, encouraging him to tell Thea the truth. Klaus knew she deserved it, especially as it involved both her twin and her love, and so he took a deep breath.

“Thea, I have something to tell you…but please don’t be mad and understand I might not be able to do it again.” Thea was intrigued at Klaus’ statement and nodded her head, “Of course, you know you can tell me anything,” she reassured him.

“I may or may not have tried taking drugs again-” at Thea’s heartbroken expression he rushed to defend himself. “-it’s just, I was out looking for Luther and found him at this club, a-and there were drugs everywhere and I just- I just could have sworn I saw Dave…I just, needed to take it all away. I’m so sorry, Thea. I’m so, so sorry.”

Thea watched Klaus’ ramblings in sorrow. She wasn’t mad at him for nearly re-lapsing, she understood just how difficult being ‘mostly sober’ was for her brother and she knew the temptation that hard drugs held for him. 

Thea wrapped her arms around Klaus’ neck and whispered into his neck, “Don’t apologise. I’m not mad, I understand. You could never disappoint me, Klausy. I love you no matter what.” She pulled back and bit her lip as she glanced around nervously. 

“It’s kind of awkward to talk about you like you’re not here, Ben, but Klaus-” she turned back to him, “-you saw how I was after Ben died. You saw what it did to me and how broken I was... still am, and I understand that you’re going to go through similar things because of Dave.”

Klaus let out a sob and tucked his face into Thea’s neck. She could feel the tears on her skin and rubbed his back soothingly. She heard Ben sigh from beside her and sent a sad smile in his direction. As Klaus let out some of his pent-up emotions, Thea heard Ben’s voice close to her ear.

‘ _I’m sorry for what my death did to you, love.’'_ Thea had a small smile on her face as she continued comforting Klaus, “It’s not your fault. I just miss you. Being able to see you and hug you. It hurts a little less knowing you’re here. Even if only you can see me.”

‘ _I’m glad, love.’_

At Thea’s mention of seeing and touching Ben, Klaus remembered what he’d meant to tell her. Taking a deep breath and rubbing his eyes, he continued his explanation. “That’s not all. What I meant to say was that when I was going to take drugs, Ben kept telling me not to and to be responsible – blah blah blah – but when I ignored him, he  _punched_  me.”

“Punched you? But wouldn’t his hand just go straight through? No offence.” She mumbled giving the empty space next to her a sheepish smile.

‘ _None taken_.’

"Well, yeah, that’s what normally happens. But Ben said it was something  _I_  did and so, it got me thinking, what if my power can go  _further_? Dad said something about my potential and how I wasn’t pushing myself when we had our dear old chat.”

Thea had a thoughtful expression on her face as she pondered the possibilities of what Klaus had said. “I mean, who knows how far any of our abilities go? Look at me for example, as a kid I thought I could only read minds, but it developed into full mental manipulation. What’s stopping you from taking seeing the dead further into  _controlling_  them?”

Klaus was thankful his sister believed him without asking him to prove it – although he could see a small glimmer of hope in her eyes at the thought of Ben being able to become tangible.

“Maybe. I don’t know, but now we’ve been practising trying to do it again, but so far no results.”

Thea leaned forward and kissed his cheek, “Keep at it, I believe in you Klausy.” She turned sideways and blew a kiss in the general direction she thought Ben sat, “You too, love.”

Klaus saw Ben smile at Thea with love shining in his eyes and couldn’t have felt happier. He had his brother and sister by his side, and the two had been able to reunite – in a way – in thanks to Klaus himself. He wrapped his arms around Thea’s shoulders in content.

Their happy moment was ruined when they felt the house shake and groan. Dust fell from the ceiling as the shaking continued and the twins turned to look at each other in worry, realising what, or rather who, was happening.

“Vanya.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been getting a lot of comments from people who want to see more Thea/Ben moments, and over on Wattpad I said the same thing in response; I'm thinking of writing a few 'flashback' chapters after I've finished the plotline of Season 1. These would include more Thea/Ben romance, missions the kids went on (some from the comics too maybe) and of course cute Klaus/Thea/Ben bonding and mischief.
> 
> What do you guys think? I'd love to do this as I'm not ready to stop writing this story yet, I enjoy it too much :)


	16. Home Crumbles Around Us

Klaus and Thea had ran out of the room as soon as they heard the explosions coming from around the house. Turning the corner, they ran into Luther, Allison, Diego and Pogo.

"What the hell is going on?" Diego demanded.

"Vanya," Pogo stated grimly. "We need to get to safety outside the Academy," he ordered.

Diego, Klaus and Thea began running while Luther shouted from behind them, "Don't forget Mom!"

 

⋅◈⋅ 

_Vanya walked through the Academy halls, the place that she'd thought was her home but had really been her prison all along. She opened the door to Diego's old room, seeing a younger version of her brother sat on his bed. He gave her an annoyed look, "Vanya! What do you want?"_

_Vanya stared at him before closing the door, walking away from the explosion that destroyed the room behind her._

_She reached Allison's room and opened the door. Inside, a young Allison and Luther were leaning into one another, their faces close. At the sound of the door opening, the two jumped away and turned to face Vanya. "Just get out!" Allison screamed as Luther ran to shut the door in her face. Vanya turned away and another explosion sent debris flying from behind her._

_Vanya opened the door to the twins shared room and saw both Klaus and Thea, but also Ben inside. They all turned to face her, a young Thea grinned at her sister as her arms were wrapped around Ben's shoulders._

_"To go on a mission, Vanya, you have to have a power," Ben said. Klaus didn't say anything in response, but Thea slapped Ben's arm in a silent reprimand and gave Vanya an apologetic look. "What he means is that we want you safe, that's why you can't come. I want to come back to my sister in one piece, so you can show me your violin again, yeah?" She gave Vanya a hopeful look._

_Vanya couldn't stand the fact that Thea had to even defend her against their other siblings. She could never take sides and it infuriated Vanya, who just wanted the rest of her siblings to treat her as Thea did. She turned away from the three and continued her way down the hall, an explosion wrecking the twin's room. Vanya sent a silent apology to Thea and carried on towards her goal._

⋅◈⋅  _  
_

Diego, Thea and Klaus ran towards the loveseat where their Mother normally sat and re-charged by the paintings, but it was empty. "Mom!" Diego shouted.

Another explosion wracked the house and the three began calling out for Grace desperately. Suddenly, rubble from the ceiling fell and hit Diego and Thea, knocking one of them out and making the other dizzy. Thea touched her temple in pain - she couldn't seem to catch a break with head trauma - and brought her fingers back to see blood.

' _Thea, are you okay? Please get up, it isn't safe. Come on.'_  Ben pleaded with her. Klaus looked up at the ceiling to see it cracking and threatening to fall at any moment. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around his sister and dragged her out of the way. Once she was safe, he went back to Diego, who was beginning to wake up.

Klaus tried dragging him away, but he was too heavy. Thea crawled over, ignoring the danger and tried tugging her brother too, but Diego was too heavy for the twins to move. Neither of them was strong and Diego being still mostly unconscious didn't help matters. "Come on. Diego, move! Wake up! Please," she begged.

The ceiling gave a loud groan and just as Thea felt like it was about to fall on all three of them, Diego's weight became lighter and they managed to drag him into safety as the rubble fell.

Thea held onto the railing in shock and sighed in relief. Diego had woken from the noise and began climbing to his knees. Klaus was giving the space next to Thea an incredulous look while holding out his hands and Thea turned to the spot too. "Ben? Was-was that you?" she asked.

' _Y-yeah, I think so. I don't know how, I was just so worried it was going to crush you and grabbed onto him and pulled.'_

"Holy shit." The twins both looked at one another stunned but Diego stumbling brought their attention to him. Klaus and Thea both took his arms and dragged his limping form through the house that was crumbling around them. "Come on. Come on, come on," Klaus chanted as they dodged falling debris and glass.

They made it to the fire escape and climbed down as quickly but as safely as they could. Once down, Diego grabbed hold of both the twin's hands, "Hey, you both just saved my life, man," he exclaimed in gratitude.

Thea cringed, "I really didn't," she denied. Diego turned to Klaus and continued to thank him as Thea mumbled, "neither did he, either." Klaus turned to Thea and Ben, who stood next to her, and shrugged helplessly at his look of disbelief.

"Shit. Mom. Mom!" Diego shouted upon seeing Grace standing in one of the windows, looking down at them all with a loving smile on her face.

Thea gasped in horror as the building continued to fall around her and she knew they wouldn't be able to get her out in time. She lifted her hand to her mouth to muffle her sobs as she heard Diego screaming in denial as their Mother waved at them and blew them a kiss.

The building shook with another explosion and Thea crouched down and shielded her head in between her arms from the flying rubble.

Once the smoke cleared, all that was left was a pile of bricks where their home once sat. Thea had never enjoyed the Academy, and it had never really felt like a home, but it was the only one she'd ever really known. It was where she'd grown up with Klaus and met her other siblings and where she'd fallen in love with Ben...and it broke her heart to see it in ashes.

Diego was shouting desperately for Grace while stumbling around in what remained of their home. Klaus tried stopping him, but Diego just got even more upset and began stuttering again.

Thea sobbed at the sight of her brave brother reduced to tears and the scared little boy he used to be. She ran into his arms and squeezed him tightly, trying to pour all of her love into it and show him that he wasn't alone.

Diego squeezed Thea back in gratitude and rested his chin on top of her head. "I love you, don't worry. It'll all be okay," she whispered to him. Diego squeezed her tighter at her confession and whispered so only she could hear him, "I l-love you, t-too."

Allison and Luther came running toward them and Thea and Diego reluctantly pulled apart. Luther had a grim expression on his face and Allison looked around her in sadness. "Pogo didn't make it," Luther began.

"What?" Klaus asked in shock.

Luther's face was sombre, "Vanya killed him."

"But Vanya wouldn't-" Diego tried denying but Luther cut him off. "No, I saw it. Just before we got out." Thea's eyes widened at the news of Pogo's death.  _Oh, Vanya...what have you done._ Her sister was hurting, and she was lashing out and causing pain that Thea was sure she'd later regret.  _She isn't in the right frame of mind, she needs help._

"Guys!" Five came running into the clearing where they all stood, he was clutching a newspaper in his hands. "This is it. The apocalypse is still on. The world ends today."

Five's words just made Thea feel even worse. Of course, Thea didn't want to die, but at this point, that wasn't her main priority. Her first thoughts were that her siblings were going to die with her, and that's something she didn't want. She couldn't bear to think of losing someone else, losing another part of her family.

"I thought you said it was over," Luther asked in disbelief.

"I was wrong, okay. This newspaper, I found it in the future the day I got stuck." Five shook his head, "The headline hasn't changed."

"No, that doesn't mean anything. Time could have been altered since that newspaper came out this morning." Diego denied.

Five huffed in frustration. "You're not listening to me. When I found it, I assumed this place came down with everything else. But here we are, the moon's still shining, the earth is in one piece, but not the Academy."

Klaus snatched the newspaper away from Five, "I'm confused," he whined.

"Then listen to me, you idiot!" Five snapped. Thea walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, "Hey, calm down. No need for insults, we're listening okay? Now explain what you mean." Five gave her a grateful look and took a calming breath.

"What I mean, is that Vanya destroys the academy before the apocalypse." He sighed, "I thought Harold Jenkins was the cause, but he was the fuse. Vanya is the bomb. Vanya causes the apocalypse." Five stared at them all seriously, daring them to not believe him.

Before any of them could talk, bright lights flashed from above and the sound of helicopter blades and sirens could be heard.

"We gotta go, now," Diego ordered.

Regroup at the Super Star. Go!" Luther shouted at them all.

Five glanced at Thea who still stood behind him and took her hand. Thea turned to ask what was wrong when five spatial jumped them both away.

Klaus was confused but Ben's voice brought him back to reality. ' _Five jumped them both away. She's safe, now come on. Let's go.'_

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

After getting over the disorientation of Five's spatial jump and politely telling him to  _warn her_  next time he did that, they'd both waited until the family had all re-grouped back at the Super Star bowling alley.

Thea was sat on Klaus' lap, as the rest of the four chairs were occupied by Diego, Luther, Allison and Five. She was facing away from them all, resting her chin on Klaus' shoulder as she watched a family in the next lane play. They were laughing with each other and had big smiles on their faces. Thea watched them in envy as they went about and enjoyed their normal every-day lives.

"Look, I hate to be the one to say this, but everyone needs to prepare." Luther's voice brought Thea's attention back to her own family. She listened to their conversation while still watching the 'normal' family play.

"For what?" Diego snapped.

"To do whatever it takes to stop Vanya." Allison smacked Luther in the chest for his careless remark.

"How did I not know?" Thea asked, breaking the silence that followed Luther's comment. The whole family turned to Thea in confusion. "What?" Diego asked.

Thea continued to gaze at the joyful family for a moment before she turned back to the others. They could all see her eyes were slightly dazed as she spoke. "How could I not know that Vanya had powers? I mean, I knew practically everything about you all until I learnt to control it. How did I not find out?"

They all frowned at Thea's point and agreed. How could she have not known something so huge? They all remembered just how annoying it was when Thea hadn't been able to control her power as a kid. She would always accidentally answer questions you hadn't spoken and would talk about a subject, not realising it was private.

For the longest time, she hadn't been able to differentiate people's spoken words and their thoughts. Thea had explained to them all that their thoughts sounded exactly like their voices, and so she just often assumed they'd spoken out loud. Thea had been forced to become the greatest secret keeper of them all as she unwillingly collected details of all her siblings.

She knew about Allison and Luther's feelings for one another, she knew when Klaus had begun drinking and smoking weed, and she'd even knew when Ben had had a crush on her. Thea had known about his crush and had flirted with him whenever she could to make him blush. She'd thank him whenever he thought about her being pretty, making him blush more for being caught.

But how could she have not known Vanya had powers?

As the boys and Thea were lost in their thoughts, Allison had been scribbling on her notepad. She hit her chair to get their attention and raised the notepad up for them all to see, giving Thea a regretful and pleading look.

I rumoured you both. Dad's orders. Had to make you both forget.

Thea was stunned at Allison's confession, as were the rest of the boys. Allison scribbled on her notepad in a rush and lifted it up again. I'm so sorry. Never meant to hurt either of you.

Thea shook her head and walked over to Allison, wrapping her arms around her neck in a hug. "I know. I'm not mad, just shocked. You couldn't have said no to Dad, I don't blame you."

She ran her finger across the medical gauze on Allison's neck, "Is that why Vanya did this? Did you tell her?"

Allison nodded her head at Thea's question and got her pen out. I tried to make her forget again. My fault.

Thea hummed and continued rubbing her sister's shoulder soothingly. She now had a better understanding of Vanya's headspace and what she was going through.

Vanya's whole life she'd been told she was ordinary. She'd been pushed to the side, and as much as Thea had tried including her, there were times she couldn't do anything for their Father getting involved.

Thea understood Vanya was likely upset and scared at all these new revelations and when Allison had tried taking that power away from her again - albeit with good intentions - she'd lashed out in fear and done something she regretted.

"It's not your fault. You tried helping her, but she's scared and lashed out. You know she would never want to hurt you intentionally," Thea reassured. Allison gave her a grateful smile.

The boys watched the two comfort one another over their sister's actions and couldn't help but smile at them both. It was nice to see them bonding, even as the world went to shit around them.

Klaus took the newspaper that sat on the table in front of him, coincidentally opening it on the page showcasing Vanya's orchestral performance later that night.

"We need to find Vanya, and fast, she could be anywhere," Luther announced. He wanted to get this sorted as soon as possible.

"Or...here," Klaus spoke up as he turned the newspaper around and showed them all the picture of Vanya.

"That's right. Her concert is tonight," Diego realised.

"Hello," a woman spoke from behind them all. They turned to see a young woman wearing a blue uniform t-shirt. "I hate to intrude, but my manager says if you're not gonna bowl, you need to leave."

Thea sighed and glanced at the woman as she waved her hand dismissively. " **Go away, we're busy**." The woman's expression was blank as she turned and walked away.

The manager was giving them dirty looks and Thea glared at him and focused on his mind, " **You too,**   **carry on what you were doing. Don't bother us**." she ordered. "I'm not in the mood and we don't have time for this," she huffed. The manager's expression turned blank too as he mechanically turned to sort through the bowling shoes behind him.

Luther gave her a stern expression and she sneered at him, "Oh shut up Luther, I'm fed up following your stupid  _moral boundaries_. Do you want to find Vanya, or what?"

Luther's eyes narrowed but he turned back to the paper. The rest of the siblings watched in mixed amusement and worry. They knew the two often clashed over things. Luther held onto his high morals and doing 'what's right', while Thea often didn't care and would order those in the way to just  _move_  if the mission was going south. Luther's need to be listened to and lead clashed with Thea's disregard for the rules, and her powers meant she often came out on top in their fights.

"We're the only ones that can stop her. We have a responsibility to Dad." Luther declared.

"To Dad? No, I've heard enough about-" Diego began to rant but Luther cut him off. "He sacrificed everything to bring us back together."

"I'm with Luther on this one," Five chimed in. "We can't give her a chance to fight back."

"Five," Thea pleaded with him.

He glanced at her in apology but didn't take back what he said. He spoke to her in earnest, "Thea, there are billions of lives at stake. We're past trying to save just one."

"Would you say that if it were me? Would you give up on me, just like that?" she asked him. Everyone shifted awkwardly at Thea's question, none of them wanted to think about being in that position.

Five looked crestfallen. "Thea, no, of course not-" he began but Thea cut in, "So why is Vanya any different? She's our sister. I can't just give up on her.  _I love her_ ," she begged.

Klaus could see the tension rising between the two and decided now was as good a time as any to chime in. "Hey, you know, guys, uh...maybe I could help."

Five and Thea stopped arguing and turned to look at Klaus along with the others. "Now's not the time," Luther dismissed.

Diego spoke up, "No, let him finish. He saved my life today."

"Yeah, sure, let's go with that," Thea mumbled under her breath and she heard Ben mutter  _'Really?'_

At the other's stunned looks, Klaus stood up awkwardly, "Yeah, yeah, I did...take credit for it. In fact, the real hero...was Ben."

Everyone but Thea gave Klaus a look of scepticism and doubt. Five glared at Klaus, "Really? You're gonna make up that shit with Thea sitting right there?" Five pointed at Thea.

Klaus rushed to explain himself, "Listen. Listen, today he punched me in the face. And earlier at the house, he was the one who saved Diego's life, not me."

"You are unbelievable, Klaus," Luther said.

"He's telling the truth," Thea whispered. Five turned to Thea and frowned, "Thea, I know you want to see Ben again, but he's not-" Thea shook her head at his attempt at placating her.

She turned to Luther, Allison and Diego, "I'm being serious. I wasn't there when he punched him, but earlier on, when the house was falling down, Klaus and I weren't strong enough to pull Diego out the way and then Ben helped just in time." Her expression was earnest as she tried to convince them all.

They all gave her looks of pity, knowing how much she wanted to see Ben again, thinking she had believed Klaus' lies out of desperation.

Thea saw their looks and shot them a glare, "Don't give me that look. I'm not crazy, do you really think he can lie to me?" she asked sarcastically, pointing to her temple to remind them she could literally  _read minds_.

She turned to Klaus, "Where is he right now?" Klaus pointed to right next to her and she turned to the empty spot. The others watched on, not knowing whether to stop the twins or let them continue. It was hard for them all to watch Thea go along with Klaus' delusions.

"Okay, how can we prove it then? Because none of you wants to believe us," Thea accused.

Allison gave her sister a sympathetic smile, while Diego, Luther and Five were staring at Thea in concern.

Luther spoke up, "It's not that we don't believe you...it-it's just that, well, maybe Klaus truly does believe Ben's there, but you're just hearing what Klaus  _thinks_  he sees?" His voice rose at the end in question, trying to rationalise what the twins were claiming.

Klaus huffed in frustration. "You want proof, is that it?" He turned to Ben, "Alright, I'll give you proof." He picked up a bowling ball and psyched himself up, "All right, it's showtime baby."

Klaus threw the ball towards the empty spot where Ben stood, but the ball just went straight through him and landed on the floor. Luther and Diego gave Klaus unimpressed looks while Thea sighed in sadness. Allison rubbed her sister's back in comfort.

Klaus coughed awkwardly.

"Is there any way to silence that voice in your head that screams out to be the centre of attention?" Luther asked condescendingly.

Klaus glared at his brother, angry at the trick not working and the sight of his sister upset. "You know, I liked you a lot better before you got laid."

An awkward silence followed, and Thea cringed at Klaus' lack of tact. "Which was a complete...It-It wasn't his fault, 'cause he was ridiculously high, right? And-and the girl, she thought he was a furry," Klaus rambled, trying to make things better.

"Stop!" Luther demanded.

Allison stood up and stormed away from the group. Luther chased after her shouting her name.

Thea went to sit on the table behind the seats as a woman came up to the group with her son. "Excuse me, it's my son Kenny's birthday today, and, uh, wouldn't your son be happier playing with kids his own age?" she asked, pointing to Five who sat sullenly.

"Assuming it's okay with your two dads," the woman continued looking towards Diego and Klaus.

Thea slapped her hand against her mouth to stifle her laughter as Klaus and Diego looked to each other in confusion. Five glared at the woman in contempt, "I would rather chew off my own foot."

The woman was horrified and dragged her kid back towards their own lane. Five walked away but Thea's attention was diverted when she heard Klaus and Diego arguing.

"If I were to date a man, you'd be the last man I would date," Diego said. Klaus huffed, "You'd be lucky to get me."

Thea couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed at the two. Her brothers shot her mock glares and she laughed even harder. She heard laughter come from next to her and grinned at the empty space.

"That was the funniest thing I've heard in ages. Not since Five's joke about Luther and his overcoat," she burst into giggles again at the remembrance of Five's remark.

Ben laughed too, but he was mostly caught up in watching Thea laugh. Her face glowed in happiness, something he hadn't seen much of in the last few days since Five had warned them about the apocalypse.

She turned to look at him - or where she thought he was - and he was glad she couldn't see him as having her full attention on himself, even invisible, made him turn slightly pink. He could hear Klaus snort at his blush but ignored him, as did Thea. Ben was just happy Klaus had moved closer to let them talk, even if he had to eavesdrop to do it.

 _'You should laugh more.'_ He told her honestly.

He'd gotten over a lot of the embarrassment he'd had in life around Thea. Dying had made him realise just how little time he'd had around her, and he'd regretted not telling her a lot of things in life. So he didn't let his shyness get in the way now he had a second chance, of sorts. Thea gave him a bemused smile, "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

_'Because it's a beautiful sound, love.'_

Thea's cheeks turned an alarming shade of pink at his honesty and Klaus chuckled at her face.

She ducked her head and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear shyly. She bit her lip, "Well, um, thank you?" she squeaked out. Her voice had gone high with embarrassment and Thea wasn't used to being taken off guard.

When they were younger, Thea had always been the more out-going one in the relationship. Ben was naturally shy and soft-spoken, and having the twins for friends meant he fit in nicely without having to change that aspect of himself. Both Thea and Klaus were loud enough for the three of them, and Ben enjoyed going along with their high energy.

For a while, before Thea had been able to control her power, she'd known whenever Ben had wanted to do something but was too shy to ask, and so she'd taken it upon herself to kiss him first, knowing it was what he wanted, but was simply too embarrassed to go for it.

Neither had minded, their personalities had matched perfectly, and Ben and Klaus got along great, meaning the three of them hardly ever argued and brought out the best in one another. Ben made the twins more thoughtful and calmer, while they pushed him to come out of his shell and try new things.

Ben laughed, ' _It's okay, love. Just stating the truth.'_

Thea opened her mouth to reply but frowned when she noticed Five was missing, "Wait. Where's Five?" Klaus, who had been listening to their conversation, heard her and looked around in confusion.

Diego saw them searching and asked what was wrong. Luther and Allison came over at that moment and Thea noticed they both looked calmer. "Where's Five? Did he pass you guys?" Thea asked the two.

"I thought he was with you?" Luther asked.

"He must have left..." Diego muttered.

"Oh, for the love of...where'd he go?" Luther asked mostly to himself. "Well, we're not waiting around for him. The concert starts in 30 minutes."

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Diego asked.

Luther paused in puzzlement, "Well, I think that, uh...We go to the Icarus Theatre."

The others looked at him, unimpressed. "That's a location, not a plan," Diego pointed out sarcastically.

Luther and Diego began arguing but Thea's attention was drawn to the space beside her. ' _Thea. Look to the doorway, now.'_ Ben's voice was tense, and Thea noted that he sounded afraid.

She looked to the entrances and saw about twenty figures wearing red gas masks walk in with guns. She didn't waste a second and with desperation, wrapped her mind around all her siblings' and ordered them, " **Get down."**

Her command threw them all to the floor just as gunshots could be heard. They looked at Thea in shock and she scrambled to hide behind one of the counters, "Yeah, thank me later," she mumbled breathlessly.

Luther and Diego hid behind a counter, while Allison and Klaus joined Thea behind hers. Gunfire continued to rain down and screams were heard from the frightened customers.

Luther and Diego were shouting about what to do and Thea pursed her lips in contemplation. "Fuck it," she whispered, catching Allison and Klaus' attention before she shot up from behind the counter and raised her hands.

She grabbed onto all the assailant's minds as quickly as possible and ordered them to kill one another. She felt her forehead brake out in a sweat at having to control so many at once but pushed on. The masked men turned their guns on themselves and loud bangs could be heard as they all fell to the ground. Thea saw more masked men run in and got back behind the counter, "Shit."

Luther gave Thea a grateful look at having thought so fast and taken out so many. Now there were only around ten left, a much more manageable amount to take out.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Diego shouted.

"Maybe they're here for Kenny's birthday!" Klaus exclaimed, trying to joke about the situation.

Gunshots continued to get closer and chipped away at the corners of the desks they hid behind. Luther picked up a bowling ball and threw it as hard as he could at one of the men. Diego also took out a few with his knives.

Thea noticed Klaus pick up the cake from their counter and throw it at one of the men, knocking him down. Thea raised a brow,  _Whatever works, I guess._

As Diego knocked another masked man down, he fell into the record player and music started playing. Thea wanted to snort at the irony of the whole situation.

♪  **S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, hey. S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, hey** ♪

♪  **Keep on dancin' to the rock and roll, on Saturday night, Saturday night** ♪

"They're blocking the exit!" Klaus exclaimed.

"So, what's the plan now, Luther?" Diego shouted over the music.

♪  **Dancin' to the rhythm with our heart and soul** ♪

Allison pointed towards the lanes and Luther agreed. "The lanes! Thea!"

Thea turned at the shout of her name, "What?"

"Can you keep a hold of them for a few seconds? Just enough for us to escape down the lanes?" Luther shouted. Thea only just heard him over the blaring music, but she nodded.

Thea jumped up first and wrapped the masked figures minds in her own, halting their movements and the siblings all scrambled as quickly as they could down the slippery lanes.

♪  **S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, hey. S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, hey** ♪

Just as they reached the end, the gunshots rang out again as Thea had to concentrate on sliding through. It didn't matter though, as they'd all managed to get out before anybody could get hit.

' _Come on, quickly.'_ Thea heard Ben fret, and she tried reassuring him as she panted while running toward the exit, "I'm trying."

None of them wasted any time as they ran out the back door and escaped into the night. Their next stop, the Icarus Theatre.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the last for season 1, but it's not the end! I'll be focusing more on my other story 'Paralysis' (please check that out when I do) but I'll update this story with flashback chapters whenever I can.   
> I'll also happily hear any requests you guys want to read about Thea's childhood and life before the beginning of this story :)


	17. The White Violin

Thea and her siblings had made it to the Icarus Theatre just as the music began to play. Luther was at the front of the group and before he could run any further, Allison stopped him to show her notepad.

Thea and I have to go alone. Vanya will listen.

Thea nodded her head in agreement. She and Allison were the only two that could realistically get through to Vanya right now. Thea knew her sisters didn't have the best relationship, but she agreed to Allison's plan anyway, hoping that once Vanya saw that Allison didn't blame her for her injury, it would calm Vanya down.

Luther didn't agree, "Allison, I can't let either of you do that, all right? She's beyond reasoning."

"You hear the music?" Diego shouted, "It's started, we're wasting time."

Luther turned to Allison, "Do you honestly think she's gonna listen? After everything that's happened?"

Thea put a supportive hand on Allison's arm and turned to Luther, "It's our only option. We refuse to let you go in, guns blazing, and hurt Vanya without trying to reach her first." Allison nodded with a determined glare towards Luther.

"We don't have time for this," Klaus mumbled.

Luther gave both girls a stern look before sighing, "Okay."

Thea sent Luther a grateful smile, knowing how hard it was for him to let them go like this. She tugged Allison and they both ran up the steps towards the theatre hall.

Allison and Thea walked hand in hand down the theatre aisle, not caring if they were disturbing those sitting down. They both gazed in wonder at their sister on the stage, who looked to be in her element.

Thea grinned at Vanya's amazing violin skills, always having believed she would've made it big someday. Allison had a look of wonder and astonishment on her face, not knowing Vanya possessed this level of talent.

Vanya noticed her two sisters watching her play and smiled at the two. Thea let go of Allison's hand to give her sister two thumbs up in encouragement.

Vanya began playing her solo piece and Thea was rooted to the spot, entranced by her performance. She'd always loved listening to her play as a child - Vanya was the one that had gotten Thea interested in classical music - and so she could appreciate just how difficult the piece she was playing was.

Allison and Thea were so entranced by their sister playing that they didn't see Luther and Diego run across the stage until Vanya had stood up and thrown them away by a force of bright energy.

The crowd began panicking and screaming, running out of their seats and out of the theatre. The orchestra playing behind Vanya tried to do the same, but a flick of her bow sent another wave of energy, forcing them all back down. They reluctantly continued playing, watching Vanya in fear.

Vanya now stood at the front of the stage, continuing to play her violin as she glowed a bright blue. She threw another wave of energy and Allison and Thea ducked for cover. Allison had gotten closer to Luther and Diego, while Thea was hiding behind a seat nearer the exit. She popped her head over the seat and shouted towards where the others sat, "What the hell was that?"

Nobody replied, and Thea saw the three of them talking and pointing towards the stage. Luther shouted over to Thea, "The violin. It's her lightning rod!"

Thea looked at Vanya and understood what he meant. Vanya was using her violin to create more noise and power it up, to then use that energy as a force. Thea tried thinking of a way to stop Vanya without hurting her.

Before she could take any action, men in masks that Thea recognised from the bowling alley came in shooting. She took further cover under the seat from the bullets that hit dangerously close. The orchestra ran away at the sight of the armed men, and Vanya continued to play.

Five spatial jumped into the aisle without warning, "What's with all the lollygagging?"

Thea heard Luther shout for Five to get down but didn't think twice as she tackled him into the seats opposite her, shielding his body with hers. They were both now closer to Luther, Diego and Allison.

Five looked at Thea in shock and gratitude. She hadn't even flinched at the thought of getting shot, only for saving him first. "Thanks," he said breathlessly. Thea gave him a quick kiss to the forehead, "Anytime, little bro."

Thea looked up at the other three, "What's the plan? And where's Klaus?"

"He's supposed to be the look-out!" Luther shouted back at her, trying to be heard over the sound of gunshots.

Thea rolled her eyes, muttering, "Of course he is."

"Five...what the, I thought you bailed on us?" Luther accused.

"I had an errand to run," Five said casually.

"Do you know these guys?" Diego asked.

"Yeah, I do."

"And?" Diego asked impatiently.

Five looked at them all, "We're screwed."

Thea shook her head, "I don't care how many there are, we have to do something." She turned to Five and gave him a considering look, "How do you feel about me hitching a ride?"

Despite the situation, Five smirked at Thea's question, knowing what she had in mind, "Anything for you," he responded.

"Thea? Five?" Luther questioned, never understanding how the two seemed to understand one another without effort.

Thea turned to Luther, Diego and Allison. "You three think of a plan to help Vanya, while Five and I take out as many of these guys as we can, got it?"

Luther opened his mouth to retort but Thea gave him no chance, and turned to Five, offering her hand. Five grinned mischievously before spatial jumping them both away. They reappeared next to a masked man, who Thea immediately jumped on, wrapping her legs around his waist while her hands went to his temple. She let her mind take over his own and controlled his body, shooting the other masked men around the hall.

Five spatial jumped onto another mask and stabbed him in the neck, repeating it again with the next. When the man Thea was controlling got shot, Five jumped over to her and grabbed her hand before jumping her to another man, who she again took control of and let loose.

Allison, Diego and Luther were watching the two in shock, never realising just how well the two worked side by side. Sure, the two had always worked well in team-training as kids, as Thea's power complimented Five's and Klaus' the best, but they'd forgotten just how in-synch the two were.

Klaus ran into the theatre hall trying to warn the others of Cha Cha's appearance outside but stopped short when he saw Five teleporting around the room stabbing masked men and Thea controlling one as she sat upon his shoulders, shooting wildly at the others.

Klaus heard footsteps behind him and a mask raised his gun to shoot, but nothing happened. Klaus turned to see Thea glaring at the man.

She waved one of her hands, the other still controlling the man beneath her, and the mask near Klaus turned his gun on himself, falling to the ground in seconds. Thea put both hands back on the mask she was wrapped around, and he let out a scream before falling to the floor, dead.

Thea turned to Klaus, "Where the hell have you been?"

More gunshots were heard, and Thea turned back to the theatre hall, where up in the stands, more masks were arriving. She huffed in frustration and pushed Klaus behind the seats. "I gotta take care of these, but stay where it's safe, okay?"

Before Klaus could stop her, Five jumped over and left with Thea, them both reappearing in the stands and taking out the multiple masks.

' _We need to do something. There are too many for them to handle.'_  Ben told Klaus in a panic.

Klaus watched his sister up in the stands and wanted nothing more than to be able to protect her. But what good could he do if all his power allowed him to do was  _see the dead?_

Without realising, Klaus' fists began glowing a bright blue, and Ben felt himself become tangible. Klaus noticed the glow and looked down at his clenched fists in fear and shock, not knowing what the hell was going on.

Klaus' jaw almost hit the floor when he saw Ben's form glow blue. Ben wasted no time and lifted his shirt to let the monsters under his skin free, tentacles shooting towards the masked men and killing them all efficiently.

Thea heard the splat before she saw what happened. She had just finished taking down as many masks as she could with the man she controlled, when she saw a tentacle wrap around the head of the mask in front of her, dragging him off of the balcony.

Thea shot her gaze down at the theatre seats and saw her Klaus shaking, his fists glowing blue, while a tangible Ben stood in front, tentacles shooting out of him and killing all the masks in the hall. Thea stumbled at the sight of Ben, not believing her eyes. She gripped the bannister as tears came to her eyes and Thea shouted out for Five.

Five had seen Ben and knew what Thea wanted. He took her hand and jumped them both down to the floor below. Thea didn't waste a second as she ran towards Ben, not caring that the tentacles were still out, she trusted Ben could control them and wouldn't hurt her.

As she got closer, Ben pushed his shirt back down, having killed all the masks.

Thea didn't even consider that Ben might not be physically here and that she might only be able to see him, as she jumped into his arms without missing a beat, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She cried into his neck in disbelief,

"H-how? What's- what's going on?" she sobbed.

Ben's arms tightened around Thea at her question, not quite believing he was holding her after so long. He ran his hands through her hair and shushed her cries, placing a kiss on her head.

' _I'm not quite sure, love. I think it's something to do with Klaus' power. Like when I punched him.'_

Thea pulled away from his neck before smashing her lips against his, kissing him with all the passion and love she could muster. Ben kissed her back just as hard, smiling into the kiss when he felt Thea shiver. Ben knew it wasn't the time to be smug, but he couldn't help it when Thea still reacted the same to their kisses after all these years.

Thea pulled away, panting for breath. Her eyes roamed all over Ben's face, taking in every inch of the boy she loved. Ben stroked Thea's cheek lovingly, ' _As much as I hate to, we need to keep moving, love. You're still in danger.'_

Thea came out of their little bubble at his words, remembering the situation they were currently in. Only a minute or two had passed since she'd ran into Ben's arms, but it felt like hours.  _It always does with him, nothing else seems to matter._

Ben started becoming transparent again and Thea looked at him in horror. He gave her a smile, ' _Don't worry. I'll come back. I promise, love.'_

Thea nodded at his words, knowing he was right. She had to focus and help her sister. Thea knew Ben was around all the time, she'd been speaking to him for the past few days but seeing him had taken her breath away.

Thea turned to Klaus, whispering "Thank you." Klaus nodded, sending her a fond smile.

Luther, Allison and Diego came over to where the twins stood, Five jumping in next to Thea. "You okay?" Five asked in concern.

Thea turned to her family, tears still in her eyes, but a happy smile on her face, "I'm fine, just-just emotional." Thea turned to the stage where Vanya still played, "What are we gonna do to help Vanya?"

"We surround her," Luther instructed. "All right? We come at her from all angles."

"So it's a suicide mission," Klaus muttered.

"Yeah, but one of us could get through. It's the only chance we've got," Five pointed out.

Thea immediately volunteered herself, "I'll do it. Allison can't talk, but I can still try controlling her if things go wrong."

All of them agreed, knowing what Thea said was true. Out of all their powers, only Thea and Allison's could be used to help Vanya without hurting her, and Allison couldn't speak. Allison gave Thea a reassuring nod.

With that, they all ran to their perspective sides, slowly walking towards the stage from all angles. Thea made her way behind the stage, so she was waiting behind Vanya.

Her job was to wait until the other's had tried tackling Vanya before doing anything herself. She didn't like the idea of physically handling Vanya but knew it was their only choice, with Thea being plan B.

As Vanya continued to play, the ceiling of the theatre was beginning to crumble. The waves of energy she was emitting were rocking the whole hall, making it difficult to stand. Vanya was glowing a bright white. So bright, it was difficult to even see her anymore, her whole body was shielded by a glow.

Thea heard Luther's shout and saw all her siblings run out towards Vanya. Vanya saw them too, and with a harsh flick of her violin bow, they all flew into the air. They were hovering, connected to Vanya's energy by a thin, white string.

Thea saw Allison and Klaus panic at what was happening, while Luther, Diego and Five were struggling, trying to find a way out. Thea stumbled from her hiding spot behind the stage towards Vanya.

Vanya was no longer playing and was watching her siblings writhe in pain as the energy was slowly sucked out of them.

Thea slowly walked towards her sister, reluctant to hurt her, but knowing that this person right now was not  _her_  Vanya. This wasn't her sister who she loved. This was someone out-of-control who was lashing out, and Thea knew she had to stop her. To save her siblings, to save the world, but most importantly, to save  _Vanya_  from herself.

Thea was right behind Vanya now, and her hands trembled as she raised them towards her sisters temple. Her eyes watered, and she made eye contact with each of her suspended siblings, their desperate eyes encouraging her to finish it.

Thea looked at Klaus, who was watching her back, his gaze terrified, and she felt her resolve strengthen.

Thea's hands cradled either side of Vanya's forehead from behind, "It's okay," she whispered. "I love you."

Before her sister could lash out at her, Thea sent a wave of high voltage electrical signals to her brain, sending her into shock and collapsing. Thea cried out as her sister fell and caught her before Vanya's head could hit the floor.

She heard the grunts and coughs of her other siblings as they fell to the floor, now out of Vanya's control.

Through all the commotion, none of them had noticed Vanya let out the last beam of energy which had smashed the ceiling dome and shot into the sky.

Thea cradled Vanya's head in her lap, smoothing her hair from her forehead lovingly. She hadn't wanted to hurt her but sending her to sleep wouldn't have worked.

It took the brain a while to shut down and go into rest mode and this is why Thea never used it on missions, as it took too long and was unpredictable.

The others came running up onto the stage, crowding around Thea and Vanya. "What happened?" Luther asked.

Thea sniffled before looking up at them all, "I overwhelmed her brain and sent her into a mild seizure, but she'll be fine. It sent her into shock and she collapsed."

Luther and Allison were shocked at Thea's admission. Diego's face was grim as he looked at Vanya, while Five and Klaus were both happy to have ended things for good.

Thea stiffened at Luther and Allison's expressions. "She's fine. It was better than killing her, wasn't it?" she asked snappily.

Luther stuttered out a reply, "I-I know, we're not mad, just in shock. I think."

Allison nodded along, sending Thea a reassuring smile. She pointed to Vanya and Thea understood what she meant. Allison was just worried about their sister.

"We did it. We saved the world," Luther whispered in happiness and disbelief.

Allison took Vanya from Thea's hands, and Thea ran over to hug Klaus in relief. "I'm so glad you're okay. I love you," she whispered desperately. Thea had been terrified of losing her brother.

Klaus hugged Thea back, moving them from where the others were crowded around Vanya. "I love you too. So much."

Klaus let himself enjoy being able to hold his sister. Klaus had been sure he'd never see her again when Vanya had been draining them of energy, and the thought scared him more than dying did. He wouldn't have cared if the world had ended, if only he could've stayed with Thea, it would have been all right.

Klaus rested his head on Thea's and looked up towards the stars, noticing a rather large object in the sky. He squinted in confusion but let out a shaky breath when he realised exactly what is was.

"Uh...guys?" he called out.

Thea pushed back from Klaus to look at what he was pointing to, as did the others. "You see that big moon rock coming towards us?" he asked.

From the smashed ceiling dome, the siblings could all see a large piece of rock hurtling towards them at an alarming speed.

"That's not good," Luther stated unnecessarily.

"So this is it, huh? So much for...saving the world," Klaus said dejectedly, holding onto Thea even tighter at the thought of their impending death.

One hand was wrapped around Thea's waist, while the other grabbed Dave's dog tags that hung around his neck. Thea unknowingly mirrored her twin, as she rubbed the small tentacle on her wrist in anxiety.

"If only Sir Reginald could see us now," Diego said. "The Umbrella Academy. A total failure," he finished disdainfully.

Luther tried reassuring them, "At least we're together at the end. As a family."

The twins clung to one another tighter at his comment. They both knew if they were going to die, they'd want to be nowhere else but with the other.

"This doesn't have to be the end," Five spoke up. At their questioning looks, he explained, "I think I have a way outta here. But you gotta trust me on this."

At once they all disagreed but Thea saw Five's serious expression and knew he had a plan, "Anything," she said. "You know I trust you, Five."

Five nodded at Thea gratefully but the others still weren't convinced.

"Well, then, we might as well accept our fate, because, in less than a minute, we're gonna be vaporised," Five argued.

"What's your idea then?" Diego asked.

"We use my ability to time travel. But this time, I'll take you with me."

"You can do that?" Luther asked, unsure.

Five shrugged, "I don't know. I've never tried it before."

Diego was convinced, "What's the worst that can happen?"

"You're looking at it. A 58-year-old man inside a child's body, so there's that." Five said sarcastically.

"I'd rather be 13 than dead," Thea pointed out.

They all agreed, if it was their only option then they had to take it rather than give up. Luther asked for everyone's consent and turned to Klaus, "What about Ben?"

Klaus turned to the space next to Thea and at Ben's nod, he agreed, "Yeah he's in."

Thea lit up at Ben's agreement and sent a loving smile to the spot next to her, "If it works, we'll be able to be together again," she whispered.

"Okay great. Luther, grab Vanya," Five instructed.

Luther picked up Vanya bridal-style and the rest of the siblings stood around them. "Wait, should we be taking her?" Luther asked.

Thea and Allison gave him matching glares for even thinking of leaving Vanya behind. Luther tried explaining himself, "I mean, she's the cause of the apocalypse. Isn't that like taking the bomb with us?"

"The apocalypse will always happen," Five pointed out. "And Vanya will always be the cause unless we take her with us and fix her."

Thea nodded her agreement and so did the rest of her siblings. Luther understood and was honestly pleased they were bringing Vanya, even if he'd been worried about it before. He didn't want to leave any of his siblings behind, but he also didn't want a repeat of what had just happened.

They all stood in a circle and linked hands. Thea squeezing both Klaus' and Five's hands tightly. Next to Five was Allison, then Luther who held Vanya and then Diego who held Klaus' other hand.

Five looked up toward the falling moon rock and concentrated on what he wanted to accomplish. Travelling with so many people at once was something he thought impossible. Time travel wasn't like spatial jumping, which in comparison was as easy as breathing by now. But it was now or never.

As Five concentrated, a blue glow began covering the siblings. It was a similar colour to the mist that appeared when Five spatial jumped. The wind began to pick up, whipping their hair wildly around their heads. A portal appeared above them, one that Thea recognised from Five falling out of the day he returned.

Electricity crackled around them all, and the wind roared in their ears. "Hold on, it's gonna get messy!" Five shouted over the deafening noise.

Thea turned to look at Klaus in reassurance, but her gaze was caught by the figure that stood behind him. Ben had one arm on Klaus and the other rested on Thea's shoulder. He caught her gaze and sent her a smile that put Thea at ease.  _Don't worry,_ it said, w _e're going to be just fine, love._

Thea smiled at Ben in gratitude and looked back at Klaus. Her eyes widened as they met the gaze of a much younger version of her brother. Klaus' eyes held the same shock, and Thea quickly looked down at her body only to see she had become smaller too.

Thea checked Ben next and saw he was already looking back at her, his face young and back to how Thea remembered him as a young teen. Looking around, the rest of her siblings were giving one another the same looks of disbelief. They all looked like their younger teen-selves, now matching Five.

Thea turned back to Klaus and Ben, amazed at their appearances and they both grinned back at her. ' _I love you'_  Ben mouthed to her. Thea squeezed Klaus and Five's hands in response and Five squeezed back. He concentrated harder, his face pinched in pain.

' _I love you too'_  Thea mouthed back.

The building shook and rattled dangerously as the outside turned to dust from the raging fire. Five let out a final shout before all the Hargreeves children disappeared into a cloud of blue mass, zapping out of the collapsing theatre hall, seconds before it was consumed in flames.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's finally over! I'm sad but also pleased I manage to finish it.   
> Of course, I'll be updating flashback chapters, but they'll only be maybe a couple/once a week, whenever I have time between writing my other stuff (new avengers and twilight fics are in the works.)
> 
> I'm so happy with how this story turned out, I never thought it would go so well, and it's all thanks to you lovely readers <3<3<3


	18. II: Zero becomes Thea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first of many flashback chapters! 
> 
> These won't be in any kind of chronological order, they'll just be whatever I fancy writing at the time :)

It was a calm day at the Umbrella Academy. The children had finished their training for the day and were now allowed to spend their free time however they wished.

Zero was sat in the Academy's back garden underneath the Orchard tree. Zero had pushed their Father into allowing her to keep the small garden. He had wanted to cover it all in cement to make more room for training purposes, but Zero had managed to  _persuade_  him into choosing a different area.

Zero loved their small garden. The Academy was such an imposing structure of dark brickwork and harsh corners that she loved to sit outside in the garden when it all got too much.

The Orchard tree was her favourite part, in the autumn the tree was painted in beautiful warm tones and in winter the snow covered the branches like fairy dust. In the warmer seasons, the tree was a great place to sit under for shade.

She'd asked Grace to help her plant more flowers around the garden and now Zero sat surrounded by full blooms of pastel colours.

Today was a hot day and so Zero had brought her book outside with her as she lay against the base of the tree. Four was laid across her lap and his eyes were shut but Zero knew he wasn't sleeping. It was too humid to sleep in the day, but she was glad her brother was getting some rest.

Zero had asked Six if he wanted to come outside with them, but he'd claimed it was too hot and that he wanted to stay inside to read in the cool library.

Zero had put her hand to his forehead to make sure he wasn't running a fever. She'd seen his cheeks flush and had assumed it was from the humidity and told him she'd see him later.

Five was sat across from her and Zero wondered how he could stand to be wearing his uniform shirt, shorts and knee-high socks. Zero and Four had changed into lighter clothing. Zero had chosen a thin polo shirt and shorts for Four and a light floral blue dress for herself.

Her and Five were deep into a conversation regarding his powers, Zero's book lay forgotten on the grass.

"But what about taking other people with you?" Zero wondered.

"What do you mean?" Five asked.

"Like, you've gotten pretty well with your spatial jumping, but that's on your own. What about taking someone with you?"

Five had a thoughtful expression at her question. They'd been wondering how Five could improve his power without trying time travelling yet. He'd almost perfected his spatial jumps and made them as accurate as possible with quicker reaction times, but Five wanted  _more_.

"Would they be able to travel with me?" Five spoke his thoughts aloud, "Or would I disappear, and they'd stay where they were?"

Zero understood his train of thought, "I wonder if your power would, like,  _cloak_  the person you're touching? Or if maybe you have to think about who and what you want to travel with?"

Five nodded in agreement, "Maybe. Because how else would it know what travels with me? If I'm holding you, but you're touching the floor, would the carpet travel with us?"

Zero hummed in thought. Five's powers were an interesting topic of discussion. All of their powers were, really.

Just  _how much_  could One realistically carry? Could Three rumour something into existence that  _didn't exist_? Could Two make his knives travel  _miles_? Could Four  _control_  the dead as well as see them?  _Where_  exactly did Six's monsters come from?

Even Zero herself wondered about her powers. Just  _how much_  of the brain could she control?

 **"Number Zero! Number Four! Number Five!"**  Grace's voice could be heard calling from the Academy door that lead into the backyard.

**"Children! Come inside, please."**

Zero and Five shared a look of confusion. What could they want? They'd all completed their training and it wasn't time for dinner yet. Five shrugged and got up, dusting off the dirt from his shorts.

Zero patted Four on the head, "Four, get up. Mom's shouting us inside."

Four grumbled but got up while rubbing his eyes. "I'm up."

He hadn't been able to sleep with the heat, but he'd drifted off into a calm state while listening to Zero and Five talk.

Zero took Four and Five's hand as the three of them walked back inside the Academy. Five had picked up her book that had laid forgotten on the ground.

They walked into the living room to see the rest of their siblings stood in front of Grace, Three stood grinning beside her.

Zero walked over to Six who stood at the side of the group and gave him a wide smile. Six blushed and smiled back softly.

Four continued to hold her hand and Five walked over to the sofa and laid down with a huff. They all turned their attention toward Grace at her polite cough.

"Now, Children. I have recently gotten permission from Sir Hargreeves to bestow you all with names of your own."

There were mixed reactions to her announcement. Three was still grinning beside her, and Two and Six looked happy at this news. One was smiling fondly at the grinning Three.

Zero and Four didn't really care, they'd gotten used to their current names, but they didn't mind having new ones either. Five scowled at the news.

Zero noticed Seven standing close to Three and Grace and saw her face was lit up with excitement at the thought of getting a new name.

Zero smiled at that, she knew her sister didn't like her name as she was sure she'd been given it because she had no powers. Number Seven, the last in line.

Zero didn't really agree with Seven's reasoning, Six was just before her, after all, and he had monsters underneath his skin. Zero was just sure Hargreeves had named them based off of the usefulness of their powers in missions, not how powerful they were.  _But who knows what goes through the old man's head._

"Now, I've already named Number Three. She's happy with the name Allison." Three, or rather,  _Allison_ , grinned happily at this and gave them all an encouraging nod. "I'm Allison!"

Grace turned to the other children, "Now, who's next?"

One, Two and Seven all ran up toward Grace wanting to be named next. She would stop for a moment while looking at the children before announcing their names.

One was now  _Luther_.

Two was now  _Diego_.

Seven was now  _Vanya_.

Six walked up to Grace shyly and she smiled fondly at the boy. "Hmm, let's see. What about Benjamin? What do you think?"

Six nodded with a smile on his face. "But call me Ben," he added.

Grace nodded happily at another child being happy with their name.

 _Ben_  walked back over to the twins and Zero smiled at him. "Benjamin. It's cute, it suits you," she told him. He turned pink at her comment before mumbling, "It's Ben."

Zero grinned at him. "Hmm. But I like Benjamin," she teased.

"Number Zero, Number Four, would you both like to go next?" Grace asked.

The twins nodded and walked over to her hand in hand. Grace looked down at the two children and adopted a thoughtful expression.

"Well, I think you'll both need names that match, don't you think? Zero, you'll be called Thea, and Four, you will be Nikolaos."

Zero hummed in thought at her new name before nodding in agreement. "I like it," she said.

She turned to her brother who had a frown on his face. Four turned to Grace, "I don't want such a long name. Too hard to say," he whined.

Grace laughed at his pout, "Not to worry, Four. We can shorten it to Klaus. How does that sound?"

Four repeated the name a few times before smiling widely, "Cool. I'll keep it."

Klaus turned to his sister, "Klaus and Thea. We have the coolest names," he whispered not so quietly.

Thea heard the others let out indignant sounds at his comment and she laughed at her brother. "That we do, Klausy. Coolest names for the coolest people," she declared.

Klaus scrunched his face up at the nickname, "You just ruined it."

Thea grinned cheekily at Klaus, "That's because I have to make sure everybody knows I'm the cooler twin, Klausy." She winked.

Klaus pushed her playfully and she pushed him back.

"Number Five, you're next," Grace spoke over the shouts of the twins who were messing around.

Five looked up at her voice and the rest of the siblings waited for his naming. Five scowled, "I don't want a new name," he protested. "I'm fine with the one I have."

Grace frowned in confusion and her head tilted to the side. She hadn't predicted any of the children refusing a new name.

"Why not?" Luther asked, "We all have one now. You can't stay as Five."

"Why not?" Five demanded.

"Because it's not a name. And you'd be the only one left without one," Allison tried persuading him.

Having new names was her idea and she'd managed to get Grace and Pogo to convince their Father into letting them. He'd still refer to them by their numbers, but Grace and Pogo would call them by their new names.

"I just don't want a new name," Five argued.

"I think it's fine. Five is a nice name," Thea spoke up.

The siblings and Grace turned to her and she shrugged. "Changing his name won't make any difference, he'll still be  _our_ Five. Why not just let him keep it? I like Five. It suits him."

Five gave Thea a small smile at her sticking up for him.

Grace gave a small hum, "Very well. Five will stay Five," she said with a smile.

The rest of the children nodded not wanting to argue the point. They all got to keep their new names, so they didn't mind Five keeping his old one.

"Children. Enjoy the rest of your free time. Dinner will be at 6. Until then," Grace announced before leaving the room to continue her duties.

Allison dragged Luther upstairs with a grin talking about her new name and how it was going to sound amazing when she was famous.

Diego and Vanya both left for separate parts of the house, smiling happily.

Thea, Klaus, Ben and Five were left in the living room. Thea had an idea and grabbed a hold of Ben's hand and dragged him toward the library, calling over her shoulder to her brothers, "Come on. I have an idea."

Five and Klaus followed their sister down the hallway and up the stairs into the library.

Ben was being dragged along by Thea and he looked at their joined hands shyly. He could feel his hand getting clammy from nerves and he hoped she didn't notice. Thea turned to grin at them all, her eyes sparkling.

"So what's this idea that's so amazing you had to drag us up here, Z?" Five asked.

Thea turned to her brother and raised a brow, "It's Thea now, Five," she reminded him.

Five shrugged dismissively. "I'm still going to call you Zero. Deal with it."

"So you're not going to call us by our new names?" Thea asked in confusion. She knew he wanted to keep his old name, but she felt the others would get annoyed if he continued to call them by their numbers.

Five turned his face to the side so the three siblings couldn't see his pink cheeks, "No. Just you," he admitted.

Thea's eyes widened at his admission but then she smiled at her brother. "Hmm, okay, then. Five and Zero. It can be our little thing," she said.

Five was pleased and grinned at her. Klaus and Ben watched their interaction not knowing what to feel. They both knew Thea and Five were close but weren't sure just how much Five liked her.

Five saw their expressions and smirked at them both when Thea turned her back to check out the books. He knew what they were both thinking, but Five didn't like Thea more than a brother should, he was just possessive of her because she was one of the only people to understand him.

"Guys! Found it! I knew Dad would have one of them in here somewhere," Thea called them over. She held up a heavy bound book that read  _'Compendium of Names'_  in gold cursive.

The boys all gave Thea identical blank looks and she huffed in exasperation. "This book has a list of pretty much every name. It'll let us know the meaning of our new names," she explained.

She looked toward Five, "No offence Five, I just wanted you to come with us anyway." Five smiled at her to let her know he wasn't offended.

Klaus and Ben nodded at her idea and followed her to one of the tables. Thea dropped the heavy book with a bang and dust blew into her face. She coughed and waved the dust from her face. Thea pried the heavy book open onto a random page.

"Right. Who's name first?" she asked the boys.

"Luther? Let's get the boring ones over with first," Klaus joked.

Five snorted at Klaus' comment and Thea nodded before turning the pages toward 'L'. After a few minutes, she found 'Luther'.

"Okay. It says;  _Luther is an American name meaning 'famous in war'. People with this name have a deep desire to lead, organise and supervise,"_ Thea read out what was written in the book.

"Sounds like him, a control freak," Ben murmured.

Klaus snorted and slapped Ben's back. Thea looked up from the book and grinned at his remark. She turned back toward the book and moved onto 'A'.

_"Allison is an English name meaning 'of nobility'. People with this name often have powerful personalities. They have the ability to implement their ideas with efficiency and determination."_

Five chuckled, "Couldn't have described Allison any better. I wonder if Grace already knew all of this when she chose your names."

Thea hummed in agreement, "I know. She probably did. That's probably why she took so long before giving us them."

"Carry on. I want to get to our own," Klaus told her impatiently.

Thea flipped to 'D'.

" _Diego is a Spanish name. It is the Hispanic form of James meaning 'supplanter; he that replaces'. People with this name tend to be dedicated to building their lives of order and service. They value truth and justice and may be quick-tempered with those who do not."_

"Basically Diego in a nutshell." They all agreed.

"Vanya next."

" _Vanya is a_   _Russian name meaning 'gift of God'. People with this name have a deep inner desire for love and companionship and want to work with others to achieve peace and harmony."_

After going through the other's names and commenting on how similar the descriptions were to each personality, it was now their turn.

"Ben next!" Thea declared. Ben smiled at Thea as she eagerly flipped through the pages toward 'B'.

"Oh, here we go!  _Benjamin is a_   _Hebrew name_   _meaning 'son of my right hand'. People with this name are dynamic, visionary and versatile. They tend to be optimistic, intelligent and make friends easily._ Ben, that's so you!" Thea exclaimed.

Ben's cheeks turned pink at her words. Klaus and Five nodded along with her words.

"He is easy to be friends with," Klaus agreed.

"And you do like learning things," Five added.

Ben blushed more at all the attention, "Thanks, guys."

Klaus broke the silence by shouting, "My turn!" as he jumped in his seat in impatience.

Thea smiled at Ben before flipping toward the 'K' section of the book. She read the passage and her face lit up, "Ohh Klaus! Yours is good, too!"

"Tell me, tell me!" Klaus whined.

 _"Nikolaos is a Greek name meaning 'victor of the people'. People with this name are unique, creative individuals and they tend to resent authority. They're sometimes stubborn, proud and impatient,"_ Thea read out.

Klaus grinned at the cool meaning behind his name, not minding the long version anymore. He still preferred Klaus, but the meaning behind his name was cool enough.

"Victor of the people? What does that even mean?" Five drawled.

Thea shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe like, he'll be king?"

Ben laughed at her confused expression. Klaus whooped in joy, "I'll rule you all!" he exclaimed as he pointed at them all.

Thea giggled as she stood and bowed dramatically, "Your grace."

Klaus lifted his chin and wore a haughty expression, "A king does not surround himself with peasants," he drawled.

"Peasants! Who the hell are you calling peasants?" Thea exclaimed as she tackled her brother onto the floor. They both began wrestling as they laughed and argued over who was better.

Five watched them both in amusement.

Ben stood up and walked over to the book, flicking to the 'T' section. Once he found 'Thea' he read what it said below. Ben grinned and spoke over the shouts of the twins on the ground, "Hey, guys. You might want to see this."

The twins stopped fighting and jumped up toward Ben looking over the book to where he was pointing. Ben read out what was written,

_"Thea is a Greek name meaning 'Goddess; Godly'. People with this name have a deep inner desire for a stable, loving family or community, and a need to work with others and to be appreciated."_

Thea was shocked at the meaning behind her name. Goddess? Her? She snorted and her brothers all turned to her in question. Thea explained what she found so funny.

"Was Mom trying to give me a big head, or what?  _Goddess, really?_  It's a good job I'm not Allison or else I'd take it as a sign and start acting like one."

Five chuckled at Thea's words. He agreed, Allison already loved her name because it sounded 'perfect for a movie star'. Imagine what she'd be like if she were literally named  _Goddess_?

Klaus was whining that Thea's name was cooler than his own, while Ben was biting his lip in contemplation. He wasn't sure if he should speak up but knew Thea wouldn't make fun of him, and so he went for it.

"I think it describes you pretty well," he whispered.

Five and Klaus stopped what they were doing at Ben's words and Thea's cheeks burned a bright red.

"R-Really?" she stuttered.

Ben nodded, his own cheeks dusted with pink. "Yeah. Goddess is pretty accurate," his voice went high at the end from his nerves.

Five rolled his eyes at the two of them while Klaus scrunched his face in disgust.

"T-Thanks," she said biting her lip.

Five mimicked gagging and Thea's blushing face turned into a fierce glare as she slapped his shoulder, "Shut up," she hissed.

Klaus got up and stretched, groaning. "Enough flirting, it's gross. I think I'm going to be sick," he drawled as he began walking out the room.

"Just kiss already!" he shouted over his shoulder before sprinting down the hallway.

Ben choked when he heard the word 'kiss' and Thea jumped up and ran after her twin screaming for him to  _shut up_.

Over Ben's spluttering Five could distantly hear Thea and Klaus' screams down the Academy halls and sighed, "Idiots."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s. don't hold me to these name meanings and origins ok, I just looked on a random baby naming site and pick and chose which bits I used. I don't claim to know any of these facts legitimacy. Thanks!


	19. II: Let's Fight

Thea was tying her long blond hair into a messy ponytail as she gazed into the mirror in front of her. She could see Klaus in the background, jumping and hopping on one foot as he tried putting on his sock.

Thea huffed as she tightened her ponytail before turning to her brother who now lay on the floor with his legs stuck in the air.

"How do you manage to trip over nothing?" she asked sarcastically.

"I don't! God is just out to get me, I swear," Klaus whined.

Thea rolled her eyes, "Klaus, if God is real I can promise you he isn't wasting precious time on your idiotic ass. Now get up, we were supposed to be downstairs, like, 5 minutes ago."

"Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute," Klaus muttered as he pulled on his other sock, looking around the messy room for his shoes.

Thea walked over to their bathroom and pulled the shower curtain back, sighing as she saw Klaus' shoes dangling from the shower head.

"Klaus! What did I say about hanging these here?" she shouted.

"But they dry-" Klaus tried explaining but Thea cut him off.

"I don't care, don't get them so dirty in the first place!" she stalked into their room and threw the shoes at him. "I'm going down. Hurry up or you'll have to explain to Dad why we're so late."

Thea pinched her nose in stress as she walked out of the room and down the stairs. She loved her brother, she really did, but sometimes he was too much even for her.

Once downstairs, she made her way into the training room where the rest of her siblings stood in line. Hargreeves stood at the front of the room with Vanya beside him, both had clipboards in hand and Vanya had a whistle around her neck.

"Ah, Number Zero. Would you like to explain why you're," he looked toward his watch, "6 minutes and 32 seconds late?"

Thea rolled her eyes as she walked over to stand at the front of the line by Luther. "Babysitting, as usual," she muttered.

Hargreeves eye's narrowed at her figure before nodding curtly and looking back at his clipboard. "Well then, we shall wait until Number Four deems it appropriate to grace us with his presence."

Just as he said that there was a loud crash before Klaus came springing into the room, his tracksuit messy and off centre and his shoes untied.

Thea closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  _If there's a Lord up there, give me the strength to deal with these idiots. I beg you._

"Number Four! In line," Hargreeves ordered.

Klaus shuffled his way over between Allison and Five, adjusting his tracksuit as he went. Hargreeves gave them all a stern look before nodding in satisfaction.

"Now, for today's training, we'll be focusing on hand-to-hand combat. Without powers," he announced.

Groans could be heard from Allison, Klaus and Ben while both Thea and Five simply shrugged. Luther had a smug grin on his face, but it was soon wiped off when Hargreeves spoke next.

"Number One will of course not be participating as it would not be a fair fight. Now, you'll be paired up. Number Two with Number Three. Zero with Five, and Four with Six," he rattled off.

Thea looked down the line towards Five and grinned. Five grinned back. They both knew the other would be the best partner they could ask for.

Other than Diego and Luther, there wasn't anybody else that would be a fun fight.

However, unlike Diego and Luther, Thea and Five didn't play by the rules, and they both loved to fight dirty. Thea grinned in excitement, she'd finally found a way to de-stress and have fun at the same time.  _Bring it on._

"Now, we'll be having these pairings fight one at a time, so that you can all witness and take notes on strengths and weaknesses. Up first is Number Two vs Number Three. Step forward both of you," Hargreeves ordered.

Diego and Allison stepped toward the mat that covered the area where they'd fight. The rest of the siblings stood against the wall to watch.

"Before we begin, can anybody tell me the strengths and weaknesses of both Number Two and Three?" he asked.

Luther raised his hand immediately.

"Yes, Number One?"

"Diego has perfect aim whereas Allison is smaller and quicker," he answered.

Hargreeves nodded his head in agreement. Thea raised her hand to answer the second part.

"And their weaknesses, Number Zero?" Hargreeves prompted.

"Well, Diego's lame and sticks to the rules and Allison punches like a girl," she drawled.

"I am a girl!" Allison shouted.

"So am I, but I bet I could deck Luther if I really tried," Thea shot back, smirking at the thought.

Klaus laughed loudly at her joke and the others tried to stop their chuckles.

Hargreeves coughed to bring their attention back to the matter at hand, "Yes, well, despite your particular choice of words, you are correct. Number Two doesn't allow variation, whereas Number Three is weaker in physicality," he lectured.

"Let's see how they overcome these issues. The first to pin the other to the floor for a total of 5 seconds, wins. Begin," he told the two.

Diego immediately lunged at Allison, who jumped to the side narrowly dodging his grasp. She continued to dodge his attacks and Thea was already bored as they played cat and mouse.

Diego lunged again at Allison but stopped himself suddenly, making her lose balance and fall to the floor.

He quickly pinned her to the mat, but Allison bit his hand and he yelled in pain. Allison tried twisting her way from underneath Diego, but he leant all his weight on her as he cradled his hand to his chest.

Vanya's whistle rang throughout the room as Hargreeves declared, "Number Two is the winner."

Allison huffed and blew her hair out of her face and Diego rolled off her and got up, extending his hand to help her up.

"Next up, Number Four and Six. Same rules apply," Hargreeves announced.

Klaus and Ben walked over toward the mat.

"Strengths and weaknesses?" he asked the children again.

This time, Diego's hand shot up alongside Luther's. Hargreeves nodded toward Diego.

"Well, in terms of strengths, Ben is bigger than Klaus meaning he could knock him over, right? And I guess Klaus...is taller?" his voice rose at the end, not quite knowing what to say for Klaus' strengths. It was well known Klaus didn't care for anything exercise related.

Hargreeves nodded, "And their weaknesses?" he prompted.

Allison spoke up this time, "Ben is hesitant in his movements while Klaus' height makes him clumsy."

Thea snorted at her description of the two boys. Ben was too timid to properly throw a punch - something she found adorable, honestly - whereas her twin was all skin and bones. He'd grown so much in height and gained no fat that he'd become gangly.

 _Like a baby giraffe tripping over its own legs,_ Thea chuckled to herself.

Hargreeves seemed pleased. "Correct. Number Six must not hesitate to make the first move, while Number Four must become more coordinated."

He turned to the two boys on the mat, Klaus had a bored expression on his face whereas Ben bit his lip in worry.

"Go, Ben!" Thea cheered from the sidelines.

Klaus shot her a glare, "What the hell, sis? Shouldn't you be cheering for me?"

Thea shrugged, "Five can cheer for you," she said as she nudged the boy next to her.

Five had a blank look on his face and he spoke with no enthusiasm whatsoever, "Woo. Go Klaus."

Klaus pouted at the lacklustre support and Thea giggled at Five's display.

"Go Klausy!" she shouted, "I'm rooting for you both!" She grinned and gave them both thumbs up.

Ben gave her a small smile and Hargreeves ordered them to begin. Neither of them moved, Klaus even slouching in boredom and Thea snorted at their lack of effort.

Ben's eyes flickered between Hargreeves and Klaus before he sighed and charged at Klaus, pinning him to the ground. Klaus made an 'oof' sound but didn't bother trying to defend himself.

Thea knew her twin hated training days and he'd often put in minimal effort to get it over with. Hargreeves seemed to agree as he shook his head at their display and wrote on his clipboard.

Vanya blew the whistle after a couple of seconds and Ben was announced the winner. Both boys walked back toward the wall where the others stood.

"Enjoy the fight?" she whispered to Klaus.

Klaus snorted, "I just want it to end, I need a smoke."

"Wait a little longer and we'll sneak out to the shop, yeah?" she whispered even quieter, so their father couldn't hear.

Klaus grinned and nodded his head. It was always easier to buy cigarettes when Thea came along, being able to  _convince_  them they were of legal age, and not actually a pair of kids.

"Finally, Number Zero and Number Five. Step onto the mat," Hargreeves ordered.

Thea smiled at her twin and walked toward the mat with Five. They were both grinning at one another at the thought of fighting.

"Now, I'll ask again. Strengths and weaknesses?" Hargreeves directed toward the others.

All but Klaus raised their hands. "Number Six?" Hargreeves prompted.

Ben glanced between Thea and Five nervously. "Well, they're both quick and fast. I-I'm not sure they have anything that can be used against the other. Without powers, at least," he admitted.

"Excellent, Number Six!" Hargreeves exclaimed.

"This is the exact reason I paired up Number Zero and Number Five. I want you all to watch how two people fight who are on an equal level. Watch how they overcome this hurdle," he instructed them all with a serious expression.

Thea raised a brow at his comment. He paired them on purpose to watch how'd they act? Five glanced at Thea with a bemused expression at the man's words.

"Now, this time, it will be the first to pin the other for 10 seconds. Begin," Hargreeves ordered.

Thea narrowed her eyes as Five wasted no time before lunging at her. She twisted out of his way and turned back to face him. She smirked at his glare.

He lunged again, and this time Thea ducked and swiped his feet from under him. Five used the momentum to grab hold of her arm and pulled her down with him.

They both quickly rolled away after falling, and Thea knelt as she waited for his attack. Five didn't move and Thea grit her teeth, knowing he was making her initiate the next move.

She lunged from the floor and pinned him to the mat, her knees either side of his body and her arms aside his head.

Five sent her a smug smirk and Thea was about to ask what exactly he found funny about  _losing_  when she was thrown aside and her back hit the floor. Five had rolled them over and pinned her to the floor, reversing their positions.

His smirk grew, and his eyes were flickering with mischief. "Got you," he taunted.

Thea narrowed her eyes,  _Oh, you want to play dirty? I'll give you something to laugh about..._

Thea leant up and brought her face up toward Five's, their noses touching and lips dangerously close.

Five's cheeks went pink at their proximity and Thea used his distraction to twist her legs around his and flip them back over. This time, she kept her arms on his chest and her thighs trapping his body.

Thea leant down towards his ear, "Got you," she mocked his earlier words.

Five huffed in frustration, cheeks still pink. Just as she thought he was going to give up, he slipped his arm from her grasp and pulled her ponytail.

Thea head snapped back and Five used his other hand to push on her chest and push her off of him.

Thea rolled away and winced at her sore head. "Seriously?" she asked Five.

Five narrowed his eyes at her, "What? You played dirty first," he growled.

"Not my fault you're a sucker for a pretty girl," she bit out sarcastically.

"Pretty girl? I don't see one anywhere," Five shot back.

Thea glared at him, "Tell that to your blush, dickhead."

Five's cheeks went pink again at the reminder, but he continued his glare, "How's the head?"

Thea lunged for Five and they both went tumbling back, neither being able to overpower the other.

Vanya's whistle cut over their fight and they both paused and looked up toward the direction of where it sounded.

"That's enough. I believe this would go on for far too long if I were to allow it to continue any longer. It's a draw," Hargreeves declared.

Thea and Five panted from where they both lay against the mat. Thea pulled herself off of Five and onto her feet, offering her hand down to him. Five grabbed it and nodded in thanks, their argument already forgotten.

That's how it often was between the two of them. They both loved to rile the other up and regardless of what they said or did, they'd often brush it off once they'd finished arguing. Neither of them liked holding anything against the other, especially during something silly like training.

Thea and Five both walked back in line, Thea deciding to skip staying in order and stand next to Klaus instead.

"Enjoy your fight? Looked very intense," Klaus teased from beside her.

Hargreeves was saying the normal finishing speech about 'working harder' and 'improving themselves' but neither was listening.

"Shut up," Thea mumbled and nudged his side.

Hargreeves finished his speech and let them all go. Thea and Klaus began making their way up to their room to shower and change, passing Ben on the way up.

Thea wrapped her arms around his neck, stopping him from going any further.

"Hey, you coming to our room after? We're off to the shop. We can get ice cream while we're there?" she offered.

Klaus nodded from beside them, pumping his fist at the mention of ice cream.

Ben looked up at Thea and bit the inside of his cheek, "Is Five going?" he asked timidly.

Thea frowned in confusion, "That moron? No, it's you, me and Klausy, like always."

Ben let out a breath and nodded, giving her a small smile. Thea grinned and unwound her arms, kissing Ben on the cheek.

"Okay! I'm gonna go shower, meet you guys in 10!" she shouted over her shoulder as she made her way toward the bathroom.

Klaus and Ben were left standing in the hallway and the taller boy looked toward a blushing Ben. "You know there's no need to be jealous, right?"

Ben jumped at his voice and turned from the direction Thea had left toward Klaus. "What?" he asked dumbly.

Klaus snorted and threw an arm around his shoulder, leading him down the corridor toward his room.

"There's no need to be jealous of Five. They don't like each other like that," he assured the boy.

Ben bit his lip, "B-but in training-"

"They like to rile one another up, and Five's a boy. What boy wouldn't blush if a pretty girl put her face right up to theirs, huh? Regardless of how they see each other, he's bound to get flustered. It's not like any of you are actually related, anyway," he pointed out, waving his arm dramatically to make his point.

Ben hummed. He knew Thea and Five were close, although not like her and Klaus, and Ben didn't want to assume things, but it made him nervous.

Five was outgoing and cocky, never afraid to say what he felt, a lot like Thea. Ben worried that being so shy and timid made him appear weak.

Klaus seemed to be able to tell what he was thinking as he leant down to whisper.

"Don't tell anybody, but I once asked Thea what her ideal type was, and she answered,  _'someone sweet, the opposite of me, basically',_ sound familiar, hmm?" Klaus asked with a smug grin on his face.

Ben blushed at the insinuation and Klaus cackled at his bright red face, he slapped the boy's back and carried on walking toward his room.

"Come on, lover boy. Let's not keep the evil twin waiting any longer."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a pretty short chapter but I liked writing Thea and Five fighting.
> 
> (If you're curious, this is set only a few months before Five disappeared. I can start letting you guys know an estimate to when each flashback chapter is set in the notes if you want?)
> 
> I think the next chapter will be of Thea and Ben's first kiss, how's that sound? Our precious boy needs some love ;)


	20. II: First Kiss

Thea's eyes flickered behind her eyelids as she slowly awoke from her deep slumber. The day before had been filled with training and Hargreeves had been a downright slave-driver, Thea winced as her muscles still ached. She sat up from within her comfy duvet and yawned as she stretched her tired arms above her head, groaning in satisfaction once she felt her back pop.

Her feet padded lightly against the wooden floor and she shivered from the morning chill. She tip-toed toward her and Klaus' shared closet and opened it, glancing toward her brother in concern when it creaked loudly. Klaus continued to sleep, oblivious to the world around him. She grabbed some comfy clothes to change into and silently padded toward the door and out of the room. Once outside she made her way across the hallway, jumping over the squeaky floorboards with ease.

Thea's expression turned sombre as she passed Five's old room. Nobody had spoken about Five in months, especially once their 14th birthday had passed and Five still hadn't come home. It was the first birthday the Hargreeves children had celebrated without one of them there, and they'd all felt awkward, sending concerned glances toward the empty chair Thea had insisted they kept out in case he returned.

Thea bit her lip and turned away from Five's door, continuing her journey toward Ben's room, quietly turning the doorknob and slipping inside. She saw a lump underneath the covers and crept closer as silently as she could, dropping her clothes onto his chair as she passed. Thea lifted the blue duvet up by the corner and slipped herself inside the welcoming warmth, wiggling her cold toes under the soft cover.

Now closer, she could see Ben's peacefully sleeping face. Thea's eyes roamed across his features, taking them all in while nobody could take notice of her staring, and bit the inside of her cheek at how pretty she found him. His eyebrows weren't frowning like they normally were during training or stressful situations, and his skin was a healthy golden tone, the complete opposite to Thea's. She and Klaus were naturally pale, no matter how much sun they got, while Ben's skin was a rich blend of sun-kissed that Thea thought made him even prettier.

Thea knew the feeling her stomach made whenever she was around Ben - a fluttering sensation that felt like butterflies lived inside her - wasn't normal, and she'd confided in her twin, who'd tried explaining exactly what was happening. Klaus had suggested she look at Luther, Diego, Allison and Vanya and test if her stomach fluttered as it did with Ben. When she'd slipped into his bed that night and explained that nothing had happened, Klaus had told her in hushed tones under the covers exactly what she was feeling.

She liked Ben, she _loved_ him. But not as a brother.

She'd predictably freaked out, but Klaus had assured her that Ben felt the same and had further explained at her look of disbelief. He'd pointed out every time Ben had complimented her or blushed at something she'd said, or even gotten jealous of her and Five's playful banter. Thea's eyes had widened in shock as he listed off all the moments and she'd felt like slapping herself for her stupidity. She'd wished she'd never blocked out everyone's thoughts for their privacy because she'd have known all of this sooner.

Since that talk with her twin, Thea was on a mission. She wanted to spend the day with Ben,  _just_  the two of them, and confirm that what she was feeling was real and that Ben loved her back. Thea was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed dark eyes staring back at her, Ben having woken up from her climbing into his bed and he stared at her tiredly. "Penny for your thoughts?" he whispered.

Thea's glanced at the boy in shock, not realising he'd woken up, but she sent him a playful grin at his comment. "My thoughts are priceless. Try again," she joked. Ben chuckled at her sarcasm and shuffled closer, their bare legs touching under the covers and sending a pleasant shiver down Thea's spine.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern, referring to her being in his bedroom and not still asleep like everyone else. Thea sent the boy a hopeful look, her eyes widening adorably, "Want to spend the day together? I thought we could make pancakes for breakfast and sit outside to relax," she asked.

Ben nodded immediately, wanting nothing more than to spend the day with Thea, though that brought up another question... "Who else is joining us?"

"No one. Just us, I hoped," she replied biting her lip. Ben glanced at her lips and nodded at her in a daze, but mumbled about Klaus likely interrupting them, knowing the twins rarely split up. Thea assured him Klaus would be busy, having already told him her plans the day before, her twin promising to let them spend the day alone and hopefully  _'sparks would fly, and all that mushy shit'_ , in his own words.

Thea jumped out of the covers in excitement once he'd agreed and skipped into his bathroom with her pile of clothes to change. Ben watched the girl go fondly and got up to change himself, choosing a comfy pair of jeans and a jumper, grateful they didn't have training and weren't wearing their uncomfortable tracksuits.

Thea returned to the bedroom moments later and began rummaging inside Ben's closet, whooping in triumph once she found what she was looking for, Ben laughing at what she'd pulled out. Thea held a large sunflower-yellow hoodie that had white looped writing on the front spelling out  _'Hufflepuff'_. It was a birthday present from Thea for their last birthday - a running joke about Ben being the ideal Hufflepuff, to which the boy tried arguing he was an ideal Ravenclaw alongside Thea - but she loved teasing the shy boy and had thought the hoodie was a great gift.

She slipped it on over her pastel top, the hem reaching her mid thighs and the sleeves falling over her fingers and giving her large sweater paws. The hoodie covered her denim shorts too and made it look like all she wore was the large sweater. Thea huffed and began rolling the sleeves up to fit comfortably, not wanting to admit it was too big and take it off, she loved cuddling her face into the sweater as it smelt like Ben.

Ben laughed at her cute pout and the sight of the oversized hoodie, or rather normal-sized on himself but which drowned her petite frame. Thea grinned at his cute laugh and grabbed his hand, pulling him out the room and down the stairs, straight into the kitchen. "Pancakes, pancakes~" Thea sung happily as she collected all the necessary ingredients while Ben got the stove hot.

She poured the mixture into the pan and began cooking the pancakes, humming under her breath as she watched it brown and crisp. Ben had finished sorting out all their toppings; golden syrup, bananas, strawberries, chocolate sauce and sugar. Thea felt her mouth water at the smell of the fresh fruit and snatched a strawberry to eat. Ben's affronted shout only made her laugh and she picked up another strawberry before turning to the boy, playfully telling him to  _"Open wide"_  as she pushed the strawberry past his lips. They both blushed as they realised their rather suggestive actions and Thea turned back towards the pan, the tips of her ears burning in embarrassment and a small smile on her face.

Ben coughed awkwardly from beside her and Thea glanced at the shy boy from the corner of her eye, deciding to take pity on him and change the topic noticing the pancakes were finished cooking already. "Decorating time!" she announced in a high voice, placing the pancakes onto two plates and giving one to Ben.

"You decorate mine and I'll decorate yours, then we'll surprise each other, yeah?" she suggested. Ben happily nodded and turned his back to her and began decorating her pancakes, Thea doing the same.

She cut up a couple of bananas and began placing them onto the pancake, following that with eight separate lines twisting from the centre. She took the chocolate sauce and carefully began blobbing the small details, tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth in concentration, wanting it to be perfect.

Grace walked into the kitchen and stood by the doorway, watching the two happy children with a loving smile on her face. "Good morning, Thea. Good morning, Ben. Do either of you require me to cook you breakfast?" she asked eyeing their messy creations fondly.

Thea grinned at Grace, "No thanks Mom, we got it!" she gestured toward their pancakes and Ben nodded in agreement. Grace gave them both a sparkling grin and nodded, leaving the kitchen with a parting  _'Good luck, children.'_

Soon they'd both finished their decorating and turned to the other with their creations, Thea handing Ben hers first, wanting to see his reaction. Ben looked down at the plate and laughed at what she'd created. He was greeted with a banana and chocolate octopus, the round pancake as its body while its eight arms were banana slices with two used as its wide eyes. Chocolate sauce decorated the cute creature with large pupils and tiny circles as suction cups on all eight arms. He looked up toward Thea and grinned to show his appreciation, knowing she constantly made light of his power intentionally, trying to make him see the ability as less of a curse and to love himself more - tentacles and all.

Thea's chest tightened at Ben's happy face and she was relieved he enjoyed her attempt at humour. She loved everything about him, and wasn't afraid of his power, despite it being dangerous and often volatile. It was a part of Ben and that was enough for Thea to love it too.

Ben shyly handed over Thea's pancake and her chest tightened further, while that fluttering inside her stomach had returned with vigour. Her pancake had been cut into a heart, and smaller strawberry hearts surrounded it, the whole creation had been topped off with a light sprinkling of sugar and syrup. Her eyes widened at his bold move and a glance up at him showed he was averting his gaze in embarrassment, cheeks dusted in pink.

Thea's own face had turned red at the pancake heart and she leant forward to kiss his cheek in thanks before she could overthink it. Taking his hand and leading him toward the table to sit and eat their breakfast.

"It's too pretty to eat," Thea whined as her fork hovered over the pancake. Ben looked up from his meal, his cheeks stuffed with the delicious pancakes and a smattering of chocolate sauce on the corner of his lips. Thea giggled at his silly expression and leant across the table to wipe the sauce from his mouth, politely ignoring his embarrassed flush.

Thea dug into her meal after seeing Ben enjoying his own, and they'd both soon finished their breakfast, humming in content at their full stomachs. Thea dumped their plates into the sink to wash later on and hurriedly cleaned the kitchen, putting all the ingredients back into the fridge. Grace was made to clean up after the children, but Thea always felt guilty leaving a mess for her to clean when she could simply do it herself.

The two ran back upstairs to collect their books - Thea bringing her worn copy of The Hobbit and Ben grabbing his sketchbook and pencils - before they both headed outside into the warm summer day. There was a gentle breeze that countered the humid weather and Thea sighed happily as they arrived at the Orchard tree in their back garden, sitting to lean against the trunk and continuing on where she'd left off in her book, while Ben sat cross-legged in front of her, flipping to a relevant page in his sketchbook and began drawing.

The two sat in comfortable silence, just enjoying one another's presence and the sounds of the birds chirping while they concentrated, the quiet a relaxing difference to the constant noise of the Academy. After an hour of reading, Thea bookmarked her position in her book and gazed over at Ben, admiring his features as the sun shone down, the light reflecting against his skin beautifully.

"What are you drawing?" she spoke up, catching the boys attention from where he'd been immersed with his sketchpad. He looked up at her startled and Thea rose a brow at his sheepish expression.

Too quick for him to stop her, Thea jumped toward him and landed in his lap, the boy raising his sketchbook in shock and she plucked it from his hands to look down at his drawing. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed down at the page.

In a pretty aqua blue colouring was a realistic sketch of herself sat against the Orchard tree with a book in her hands. Her hair had been shaded in a brilliant golden yellow and the lush green grass around her looked vibrant and alive upon the page.

"Beautiful," she said as she stared at the drawing in amazement. She got no reply and Thea turned her head back at Ben to gauge his expression, seeing his worried eyes looking back at hers. "Ben, it's so  _beautiful,_  I don't know what else to say," she uttered.

Ben gulped, and his eyes flickered toward the drawing and back at Thea, whispering so quietly she almost didn't hear him, "You're beautiful."

Thea carefully dropped the sketchbook onto the grass before turning around in his lap and letting her legs wrap around his waist. They were face to face and Thea planned on getting him to admit his possible feelings now, deciding it was the perfect moment.

She lifted her hand to cup the side of his face in her hand, rubbing her thumb across his cheek soothingly, "You think I'm beautiful?" she whispered in hope.

Ben stared into her eyes, his gaze never leaving hers and he whispered back just as softly, "I think you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen," he confessed.

Thea bit her lip, the boy dropping his gaze toward her lips in response and he gulped again at the alluring sight. She slowly moved her face closer to his, their breaths mingling, and Thea felt his breath fanning across her lips, sending a shiver of anticipation down her spine. They both glanced at one another's lips, neither daring to make the first move, afraid they'd ruin the moment.

"Is this okay?" Thea whispered in concern, not wanting to force Ben into something he didn't want, regardless of her feelings for him.

Ben let out a shaky breath at her question, his eyes earnest and filled with adoration as he gazed at Thea, "More than okay," he admitted.

Thea took that as consent to move forward and without overthinking it, letting her instincts take over, she closed the distance between their lips and kissed the boy she loved, _finally._

The kiss started off light but the tension between them had boiled to a point where they both couldn't take it anymore and they soon deepened the kiss, desperate to be as close to the other as possible. Thea's mind had blanked once her lips met Ben's and the only thing she could register was that his lips were the softest things she'd ever felt. And she  _loved it._

Ben cupped the back of her neck to pull her closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss and Thea clutched his shirt in response, not able to function as she felt lightheaded from all the intense emotions.

The two pulled away after a few minutes, panting and out of breath, their foreheads touching as they looked at one another in wonder. Ben's cheeks were stained red and Thea felt the tips of her ears burning, though neither noticed, their attention focused wholly on the other as they locked eyes, love evident in their gaze.

"I've wanted to do that forever," Ben shyly admitted, though he displayed his perfect white teeth as he gave her a crooked grin. Thea giggled at his giddy expression and pecked his lips again agreeing with his comment. They both laughed at their actions and Ben wrapped his arms around Thea's waist, pulling her closer to his chest as she leant her chin against his collarbone, looking up into his eyes.

"What does this mean?" Ben asked quietly after a few moments of silence. Thea frowned in confusion and asked him to elaborate, not understanding.

"Does this make us, like, um- like are you my g-girlfriend now?" he stammered in embarrassment, stumbling over the word  _girlfriend_. Thea giggled at his cute stutter, finding his awkward question endearing and she nodded her head happily, kissing his cheek to reassure him.

"I'd love to be your girlfriend, Ben. I'd enjoy calling you my  _boyfriend,_ " she admitted honestly, smiling fondly at his flushed face and slightly widened eyes. Ben took the initiative to move first and pulled her into another kiss, sighing in content when their lips met. When they pulled back, Thea tucked her head into the crook of his neck, humming happily as his calming scent enveloped her.

"Klaus is going to kill me," Ben muttered after a comforting silence. Thea chuckled at his random comment about her twin, playing with the small hairs on the back of his neck as she responds, "Don't worry about him. I'll protect you from Big Bad Klausy," she teased.

They two of them sat in the garden cuddled up by the Orchard tree until the sun began setting and the Academy was shrouded in a warm glow. Both were content as they held one another and thought of what the future may hold, but happy knowing they'd have the one they loved most by their side through it all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the long-awaited first kiss! I hope it met everyone's expectations... it couldn't be too intense because I mean, they're still pretty young, but I do plan on having them share their 'first time' together maybe once they reach, like 17? I didn't really want to write underage smut but I also have this head-canon where Ben died before he reached adulthood (meaning he and Thea couldn't move out before he died) sooo...
> 
> Also, this is set a year or so after Five's disappearance if that wasn't obvious enough :)


	21. II: Trust Me

Thea ran through the Academy halls trying to get to their meeting place as fast as possible, her long blonde ponytail swaying behind her with every step. Hargreeves had gotten intel from god-knows-who that there was going to be a bombing attempt on a monorail heading through town and that the Umbrella Academy was tasked with stopping it.

Why anybody felt  _kids_  were suited to stop a literal bomb-attack was beyond Thea.  _Adults are stupid like that._

She reached the foyer of the Academy, moving to stand beside Luther and Diego who were already waiting, masks covering their eyes and decked out in their black suits. Thea heard running footsteps and spied Klaus and Ben speeding toward them, and then a  _pop_  sounded from beside her and Thea turned her head to meet Five's wide grin.

"What are you so smug about?" she asked.

Five leant his arm on her shoulder, casually leaning against her, disregarding the fact he was out of order in the line and glanced at her twin and Ben. "I managed to get to you first, is all," he replied and gave her a wink.

Thea snorted at his remark and rolled her eyes, neither of them had put on their masks yet as Thea hated the scratchy material and would always leave it until last minute to wear it. "You three talk about me as if I'm a prize to be won," she shot back, narrowing her eyes at them all.

Ben looked down at his feet, his cheeks aflame while Klaus stuck his tongue out at her childishly. Five's grin seemed to grow smugger if such a thing were even possible. "I'll enjoy my prize then," he replied smartly but yelped when Thea smacked his arm at his comment, a glare on her face.

"Shut up, you're all gross. I knew Vanya was right,  _boys are weird,"_ she muttered the last part under her breath.

Allison came rushing down the hallway, her curly hair framing her face as she panted from hurrying. Following behind her was Reginald Hargreeves and Vanya, both walking sedately, the smaller holding a notebook while Hargreeves held his regal cane beside him. All the children straightened at his appearance, and Five scurried back in line beside her twin, Allison making her way between Diego and Klaus.

Hargreeves stood imposingly in front of the children, his eyes hard and demanding. "Now, I have been given confidential and vital information regarding a planned bombing upon the central train heading towards the town centre. It will be the responsibility of the Umbrella Academy to stop this threat and successfully save the lives at risk. Do you all understand?"

The children all nodded seriously at his question, though a few shuffled nervously at the daunting task ahead of them. Thea wasn't too nervous, not because she was cocky. but simply because Hargreeves had raised them for this. She knew there was no other option and that any protests would be squashed immediately. She'd given up trying to speak her mind with her father and now simply went along with his plans, knowing he put them all in danger regardless.

Though, Thea knew one thing; she'd stopped caring for her own safety, but she was determined to protect Klaus no matter what. He was the most vulnerable during these missions, having no defensive  _or_ offensive powers and so Thea took on that responsibility herself.  _She had to._

"Come along then! You'll all be boarding the monorail before it leaves it's station and will eliminate the threat once aboard. Work together and take this as a learning opportunity," Hargreeves instructed as he walked out of the Academy, the children all following him in their ordered line.

Thea narrowed her eyes at his back, her fists clenched at her sides.  _Learning opportunity my ass._   _Does he even care that he's sending a bunch of kids aboard a train where a bomb will **detonate** , with no way off if they fail? Is that it, failure equals death? What a fucked-up story this'll be to tell the kids. 'Oh, your grandad? Yeah, he used to send us on suicide missions before we'd even hit puberty. Doesn't that sound fun? Wanna try?'_

Thea felt a warm hand on her shoulder and glanced behind her to see Luther looking straight at Hargreeves' back and not meeting her eyes, but his large hand felt comforting against her shoulder and she knew what he was trying to say.  _Calm down, this is what we do._

Thea patted the hand in gratitude and Luther slipped it away, acting as though nothing had happened. Thea knew he was the only one of them who actually enjoyed these missions, but he was mature enough to also understand that the rest of his siblings were being forced into these dangerous situations, and it was  _that_ he didn't like. Luther was a boy who'd had too many expectations thrust upon him by their father and dealt with it the only way he knew how; by trying to  _exceed_  them.

Thea shook herself from her thoughts once she realised they'd all made it to the monorail station, and Hargreeves left them to it, Vanya trailing behind him and sending worried glances behind her at her siblings. The children huddled together, ignoring the curious glances from people at their matching attire, likely chalking it up to kids playing dress up. The Umbrella Academy wasn't famous enough yet to be instantly recognisable, though, Thea wondered how long that'd last once they saw Five teleporting and Ben's tentacles.

Thea wanted to snort at the irony of the situation. They  _were_  kids playing dress up, that's all they'd ever be. Despite having powers beyond imagination, they were all just kids being dressed up into superhero costumes and pushed towards danger.

"We need to find the bomb and defuse it, that's our main goal. However, there's bound to be people aboard that'll give us some trouble, so we need to take them out too," Luther said, taking charge of the situation.

"So what's the grand plan?" Klaus asked, though his head was tilted away from the group and toward the station, already bored.

Luther looked at them all seriously, it was hard to tell with the mask covering his eyes, though his clenched jaw gave it away. "Me, Diego, Klaus and Five will take care of anybody we run into along the way. Allison," he turned to the girl, "it's your job to keep the passengers calm."

The mentioned all nodded in understanding and Thea poked the inside of her cheek with her tongue in annoyance, understanding what he wasn't saying. "S-so what about the bomb...?" Ben's voice chimed in and Thea's eyes narrowed as he stuttered from nerves.

Luther looked to Thea and winced at her murderous glare, before he could speak up she cut him off, "That's my job, and I imagine you're playing bodyguard." Ben glanced at her then looked back to Luther for confirmation, an uneasy grimace on his face at the thought of Thea being so close to the bomb.

Luther nodded his head but tried explaining himself. "You're our best bet. There's bound to be someone guarding it and you can get the information on how to stop it from his head." All the Hargreeves children looked uncomfortable at the thought of her taking the biggest risk, but Thea just nodded in understanding and began walking away to board the train. "Come on bodyguard,  _protect me,_ " she winked at Ben.

The children all boarded the train as it announced it was leaving the station, and Thea watched as they passed the city's buildings. She could see all the people through their windows getting on with their day-to-day jobs and bit her cheek in envy at their mundane lives.  _No powers, no missions, no expectations._

Ben's hand linked with her own and Thea turned and smiled at the boy, smiling at him in thanks before pulling him through the train, keeping their fingers intertwined. Ben's cheeks were red as he saw the fond smiles an old couple wore as they watched the two children walk hand in hand - ignoring their unusual attire - and he looked back at their clasped hands, the tips of his ears burning hot.

Thea dropped her mental shields to let in the magnitude of thoughts surrounding her, wincing as they all came to her at once before she quickly limited her range, only wanting to hear the thoughts of the passengers, not everyone in the city. Ben took Thea's arm once he saw her dazed eyes, realising she was concentrating on locating a singular person through the horde of buzzing voices. She tilted her head as a particular voice stood out among the rest. It wasn't the tenor or gender or even the intensity of the voice, it was what the voice was saying.

_They were counting down._

The train shook violently, and Thea almost fell to the floor if not for Ben swiftly catching her and pulling her into his arms. Thea frowned and turned at the sound of her brother's voice shouting their names frantically. Luther ran up to them both, hurriedly explaining his plan as he looked out the windows worriedly. "The trains about to derail, I'm going to try and stop it. You need to find the bomb quickly, we're losing time," he said, and Thea took a shaky breath as the situation just got worse.

Thea narrowed her eyes in determination. "I'm on it. We'll stop the bomb, no matter what," she said and pulled Ben along to where she'd heard the voice, focusing in on it as she hurriedly sped through the train and to a bathroom door. The thoughts were loud and clear, and Thea knew she'd found the culprit. Without hesitation, she kicked the door handle sending it flying off its weak hinges and the bathroom door flung open, the man inside looking toward the two children in shock.

Ben stayed back but watched Thea carefully, ready to jump in at a moment's notice as she launched herself at the man, wrapping her legs around his waist and clutching his head between her hands, sifting through his thoughts frantically for the answer to their problem. She felt the train shake violently and gripped onto the protesting man tighter, unwilling to fail in her mission now. If she failed, she'd be putting not only herself and innocent passengers in danger, but her family too.

After another minute passed and still no answers, Thea grit her teeth and dived in deeper, the man shouting in pain as his head was rifled through mercilessly. She was being sloppy with her actions, not caring for his mental state afterwards and only focused on finding the answers. But, it was after another minute and the train finally coming to an abrupt stop that Thea came to the horrifying realisation.

_He doesn't know how to stop it. He never did._

This seemed to be their plan all along. If nobody knew how to stop the bomb, then there was no chance of the plan being foiled. She bit her lip till it bled and yanked her hands from the man's temple in frustration, not caring when he fell to the floor with blood dripping out of his nose and eyes rolled back into his head.

"What's wrong? Can I help?" Ben asked worriedly, watching Thea pace angrily. She turned to look at Ben at his question and a light bulb seemed to go off above her head, her eyes widening as she stared at him. Ben shifted uncomfortably at her stare, not because she was staring at him - that was something he loved - but because he knew the look in her eyes boded nothing well for him.

"God, Ben, this is why I love you. You're a genius!" Thea exclaimed, and her eyes glittered in hope. She hurriedly - yet very  _very_  carefully - picked up the bomb that had been sitting on the countertop and left the bathroom, making her way back toward the others with fast steps. Ben was left standing to stare at her back, his cheeks flaming at her exclamation before he jolted from his embarrassment and quickly followed her.

Thea met up with the others, holding the bomb out in front of her and steering clear from her siblings. She noticed the passengers had left now Luther had stopped the train, and she guessed Allison had rumoured them all to leave calmly, as she'd heard no screams. Klaus' eyes widened at the sight of her and the bomb, stumbling forward with his arms held in front of him, looking bewildered.

"Thea! What the hell, I thought you were defusing that thing?" Allison's high-pitched voice shouted at the sight of the girl holding such a dangerous weapon. Luther and Diego both looked at her in shock and horror too, while Five was watching her with narrowed eyes, his gaze focused as though he was getting ready to spatial jump over at a moment's notice.

"I know, I know. But the guy had no clue how to defuse it, he never did! And Ben had the most brilliant thought, well, it was me really, he's just brilliantly inspiring and-" Thea rambled in her excitement at knowing how to fix the situation, but Luther cut her off. "Get on with it!" he shouted as he looked at the ticking bomb in fright.

"Relax, it has, like, loads of time left, I checked. Anyway, I have an idea on how to stop it," she said and they all stared at her with matching blank looks that screamed  _'hurry up and explain'_. Thea huffed and shifted in her place, her arms aching from holding the bomb out in front of her.

"Ben will take us both up the buildings and then he'll throw the bomb up into the air just before it's set to detonate. It'll go off but only in the air, missing all buildings and people and voila! Perfect plan!" she exclaimed, waiting for their reactions.

There was a moment's silence before they all replied back at once, shouting their refusals and protests.

**"What the hell kind of plan is that?"**

**"Are you insane? Do you want to become chopped mince from killer tentacles?"**

**"That's the most idiotic plan I've ever heard."**

**"Perfect plan? _Perfect plan?_  That's far from perfect!"**

Thea rolled her eyes at the protests, not in the mood for their comments as she gazed at the ticking bomb that read  _4 minutes 23 seconds remaining._

_4:23._

"Okay, look! I lied, we don't have time, we have, like, 4 minutes to get rid of this bomb before we all become tiny pieces splattered on this train so  _if you don't mind,_  I'm going ahead with my plan since none of you has any bright ideas," she sassed and turned to Ben who'd gone pale the longer she spoke, cupping his face in her hands and staring into his worried eyes.

"I need you to trust me, Ben. I wouldn't put you in danger, you know this," she said softly. Ben shook his head, explaining his frightened state. "I don't care about that...what if I hurt you?" he whispered with a pained look in his eyes.

Thea smiled at his comment, her chest tightening at his worry for her. She stroked his cheek as she spoke, "That's  _why_ I'm coming with you. I'll help keep you in the right state of mind, so you can control yourself, okay? I just need you to try, I can't do this without you."

Ben stared into her determined eyes, the light flickering off the pale blue and sighed, nodding his head in agreement. Thea grinned happily despite the tense situation and looked back at her siblings, who were watching the two with mixed expressions. Five's raised brow made Thea want to blush, his clear insinuation as he glanced between them both made her abashed, though she pushed it down resolutely, concentrating on the task at hand.

"Luther, I'm gonna need you to open the roof and give us a lift," she asked her brother. Luther sighed in resignation and lifted himself onto a seat before gripping the rooftop panel and ripping it from its hinges, leaving a crude hole above them. Thea gestured for Ben to be let up first as she brought the bomb closer, glancing at it in concern.

_3:14_

Thea's eyes widened, and she hurriedly walked over to her brother, letting him pick her up and lift her to the hole where she gently lay the bomb before pulling herself up and onto her feet. She glanced back down at her siblings and tried reassuring them with a grin. "Be right back, gotta save the world! Or rather, this tiny insignificant train station..." she trailed off pursing her lips in thought, before turning back to Ben at her failed attempt of a pep-talk.

"So what am I doing again?" he asked as he stood there awkwardly, clutching the bottom of his shirt. Thea walked over, the bomb in one arm and lay her hand on his clenched fist. "I need you to take us above the buildings and throw this as high as you can once it's ready to blow. Don't worry, I'll keep us both safe," she assured him. Ben glanced down at the bomb's timer and his eyes widened at the time it showed.

_2:35_

Thea carefully handed the boy the bomb and walked behind him to jump onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and delicately cupping his temple in her small hands. The contrast from the unnamed man earlier was obvious as her thumb stroked his soft cheek. She leant down to his ear, "Whenever you're ready, Ben. I've got you, just let go."

Ben took a deep breath, his body tense but lifted his shirt to let the monsters out, trusting Thea would help control him. Thea closed her eyes in concentration, focusing in on Ben's mind only, ignoring the outside world, trusting Ben to get them where they needed to be. She enveloped his mind in calming waves of love and serenity, not allowing his nerves or fright of the monster to cloud his judgement. She repeated the same mantra within his thoughts to help him stay focused.

_'Trust me. We'll keep each other safe. You can do this. I trust you.'_

Ben's mind felt fuzzy as he allowed the tentacles coming from under his skin to scale the building's wall, helping the two children to ascend further and further above the ground. They were high above the monorail and soon reached the rooftop of the high-rise building. Ben felt unnaturally calm as he gazed at the tentacles that were agitatedly flickering around his body, the long arms twisting and extending, one even coming to wrap around Thea's head, thankfully leaving it safe much to Ben's relief. Though he frowned in confusion as it seemed to almost  _caress_  the girl's golden hair.

Thea's eyes were still closed in concentration, though she spoke aloud when she felt they'd stopped moving. "What time does the bomb say, Ben?" she shouted over the wind from being so high up.

Ben looked at the object in his hands - almost having forgotten he was holding such a dangerous weapon - and held his breath at the timer.

_0:36_

He repeated the time back to her and Thea nodded to herself, shifting slightly where she still clung to his back. "Right, I need you to concentrate and use a tentacle to take hold of the bomb - carefully! - and throw it as far as possible once it reaches 5 seconds, okay?"

Ben agreed, and he slowly focused on bringing the tentacle closer to himself, sweat beading his forehead at the effort of controlling such a monstrous force. Thea helped as much as she could, her eyebrows furrowed as she determinedly forced down Ben's anxiety and self-doubt and replaced it with her own trust and confidence.

The bomb read _10 seconds remaining_  and the tentacle arched backwards ready to strike as the two children counted down in anticipation.

**9...8...7...6...**

"Now!" Thea shouted and watched as the monster's arm launch the bomb high into the air with such strength that it almost became lost to the skies.

**4...3...2...1...**

Thea held her breath as the countdown ended and nothing happened, but let out a shout of joy as she saw the explosion, safely away from all civilians and buildings. The flames lit up the sky, the orange inferno contrasting against its baby-blue canvas.

Ben gasped in shock and happiness at their success and Thea jumped from his back and pulled the boy into a crushing hug, both of them wearing wide grins as smoke fell from the sky and was lost to the wind.

"We did it! We did it! I can't believe we did it!" Thea cheered, forgetting all the stresses and worries of the day and simply allowing herself to celebrate such a close encounter. They heard a  _pop_ behind them and turned to see Five, who stood with his arms crossed wearing a wide smirk. Ben coughed in embarrassment as he let go of Thea, where they'd been previously wrapped in one other's arms. Thea was oblivious and jumped toward her brother, grinning at his familiar smug expression.

"Five! I never thought I'd be so happy to continue seeing your stupid smug face!" she exclaimed and laughed at his affronted glare. She pulled him into a hug, genuinely relieved everything had gone as she'd hoped, and her family was okay.

"The world wouldn't be complete without this 'smug' face,  _thank you very much,_ " Five sassed back. Thea and Ben laughed at his comment and the girl threw her arms around both her brother's necks, walking them toward the rooftop doorway.

They'd soon made their way down and out the building to meet the rest of the Hargreeves children, Thea exhaling as the air was knocked from her lungs when Klaus crushed her in a hug. His tall lanky body enveloped her petite frame completely, making a comical image to those who watched on.

"I was so worried," Klaus whispered, his voice uncharacteristically soft. Thea clutched him back tightly, understanding the worry he'd likely felt watching his twin in danger. If it had been Klaus putting himself in the firing line, Thea wouldn't have been able to stay put. She kissed Klaus' cheek and rubbed his back soothingly before they both pulled away.

Diego grinned toothily at his sister and gave her a thumbs up, "Good job sis, glad you didn't die and everything." Thea gave him a sarcastic smile and slapped his shoulder lightly at his remark and he laughed before patting her back, muttering a soft  _'glad you're both safe'_  under his breath.

Hargreeves soon walked over to the children, Vanya trailing behind him dragging a large duffel bag in her small arms. Luther helpfully took it from her hands and zipped it open to reveal their Academy coats, Vanya handing them out to her grateful siblings.

Thea took her dark blue fleece coat from Vanya with a smile, who bit her lip and gave a small smile in return, though Thea took note of the girl's slight shiver despite wearing her own large coat. Thea had just put on her woolly scarf around her neck but began unwrapping it and walked toward Vanya, looping it around the girl's neck and pulling her closer by the ends, delicately wrapping her in the soft maroon fabric.

"You look like you need this more than me, sis. Looking like Rudolph," she joked, gently tapping Vanya's red nose with her finger playfully. Vanya's cheeks flushed at the actions, feeling warm at the caring attention from her sister. Thea chuckled at her flushed face and watched her sister scurry off to the end of the line.

Thea buries her nose into her Academy coat, upturning the collar to keep off the slight breeze that had broken out and sent her into shivers. Her coat smelt like home and Thea sighed in content, putting their dangerous mission behind her and looking forward to going home.

"Who wants to go to Griddy's after this?" Five asked aloud, smirking as he already knew their responses. He chuckled as he got seven unanimous yells of agreement back, all excited at the mention of their favourite place.

The Eight Hargreeves children stood in line as their father spoke out to the gathered crowd, all looking forward to spending a happy time together and scoffing their faces with sugary goodness.

 


	22. II: First Time

Two people entered their hotel room clutching overnight bags while their free hands were intertwined with the person beside them, their fingers clasped. The male's thumb rubbed the girl's knuckles soothingly.

Upon entering the room and shutting the door closed behind them, Thea had dropped her bag onto the ground and jumped onto the large double bed that sat in the middle of the spacious room. It had been a struggle to persuade their Father into letting her and Ben leave the Academy for the night, but after making up some bullshit story about wanting to test her powers around crowds of strangers, and some subtle meddling with his mind, they'd managed to escape into the night and book a room in a modest hotel not too far from home.

Ben had worried that using so much money would draw Hargreeves' attention despite Thea's meddling, but she'd shushed the boy and assured him her manipulation would stick, and that the old man wouldn't ever figure out they'd practically stole his money for their own use.

 _It's the least he could do,_  she thought bitterly. Sixteen years of a loveless childhood and now they were finally getting a night  _alone._ No siblings, no monitors or surveillance, no demanding Father with hawk-like eyes watching their every move.  _Nothing._

Ben dropped onto the plush sheets beside her, sighing as his tired body met the comforting spring of the hotel mattress. He closed his eyes in contentment and Thea leant onto her elbow beside him to gaze at his face, enjoying seeing her love so free of the stress and anxiety he usually carried around with him.

Ben's eyes opened slowly and met Thea's soft gaze, the boy smiling up at her fondly. "Like what you see?" he joked, his voice soft in the comforting silence. The room was pretty soundproof - something Thea would deny fervently to having  _triple checked_  when booking - and so it was as though the two teens were inside their own personal bubble, away from the outside world.

Thea grinned at Ben cheekily at his comment, running her gaze across his figure suggestively. "You'll get no complaints from me," she winked. Ben huffed a laugh at her silliness, though she noticed his fingers twitch from where they lay beside her body, as though he was holding himself back from touching her.

_That won't do. That won't do at all._

Thea had planned on them both relaxing for a while and possibly going out for something to eat before returning to the hotel room and falling into one another's arms, finally able to come together like they'd been wanting to for months now.

Thea had first mentioned her plan to Ben a couple of months ago when she'd reached her boiling point with their kisses and heated make-out sessions in any hiding spots they could find within the Academy. She'd resented not being able to be with Ben in her  _own bloody home_  and so had devised her current plan; manipulate their Father into letting the pair leave the Academy for the night, and then book a hotel room, giving the teens the privacy they'd sorely craved since they'd admitted their feelings for each other almost a year ago.

However, her plan of dinner and relaxation was being thrown out of the window as she gazed at the boy laid beside her. The boy she was so in love with it sometimes scared her. The boy who made her heart race like no mission ever could and whose smiles or secret glances would leave her chest tight and butterflies in her stomach for hours afterwards.

Thea knew they were both young, but they'd been forced to grow up faster than was healthy, and so she knew even at such a young age that there was nobody else for her but Ben. She couldn't imagine loving anybody else if she were to live a hundred lifetimes and she craved to be able to touch him and love him how real lovers would.

Thea Hargreeves had never craved a normal life quite as much as she did whenever she stared at the love of her life, Ben Hargreeves.

Without further thought, Thea pushed her lips against the boys in a desperate kiss, not quite believing they truly had the night to themselves, to be able to express their love without secrecy or shame.

Ben kissed back just as fervently. It was still a slight shock whenever Thea kissed him, as he still couldn't quite believe she loved him back, unknowing how he was blessed with the luck of requited love. He'd loved Thea for a long time, ever since they'd been children and he'd watched her and Five flirt - or as they called it,  _bantered_  - with one another and his stomach had clenched and twisted in displeasure. It'd taken him a while to understand why his chest would ache horribly or why his nose would scrunch in dislike whenever he saw how close Thea was with others, but after a long talk with his best friend - and her twin - he'd realised just how infatuated he was with Thea Hargreeves.

Ben still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that the love he held for her so ardently was returned in full. However, Ben wasn't stupid and didn't sit to ponder  _how_  he'd gotten so lucky, he simply pushed all his emotions into every kiss they shared hoping she'd understand just how deeply he loved her.

They broke apart, both needing air after their spontaneous kiss. Thea nibbled on Ben's lower lip, looking up at the boy under her dark lashes hoping to get across her desire. "Ben, I need you," she whispered against his lips, watching the boy's eyes widen at her comment.

"W-what? Now?" he stuttered nervously, blinking quickly at the indecent thoughts that ran through his mind at her remark.

Thea leaned in closer to him and began kissing his jaw, slowly working her way down his neck, mumbling in between soft kisses. "Yes, now. That's why we're here, isn't it? So you can take me however you wish," she whispered hotly into his ear before pressing a lazy kiss behind his ear. Ben shivered at her words, biting his lip to stop a moan from escaping. He took a steady breath as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end while Thea continued pressing sloppy kisses to his jawline.

"I don't want to pressure you into anything. We have the rest of our lives to do this," he said softly. Not that he wanted to put this off, _God no,_  Ben wanted this more than anything, but he'd never want to pressure Thea into doing anything she wasn't comfortable with. Ben would never do that to her.

Thea hummed against his neck, her lips pressed against a patch of skin that sloped into his shoulders, dangerously close to his collar bones that were visible from the collar of his shirt. She pulled back and looked at him intensely, wanting him to understand the sincerity behind her words. "We never know what's going to happen tomorrow, Ben. I'm scared of losing you and having all these regrets of what we missed. I know we're young, but I know I want you. _I ne_ _ed you._  I don't ever want anyone else but  _you._ "

Ben's eyes were cloudy with an emotion Thea knew all too well, for it was the same look she held whenever she gazed at the boy in front of her. _Love._

Thea jolted from shock when lips were suddenly smashed against her own, but she quickly kissed back, never tiring of the feeling of kissing Ben, or the taste of his lips on hers. She pulled back slightly as a thought crossed her mind- "Is this what  _you_  want?" she asked sincerely, not wanting to push him into something he didn't want either.

She knew people often forgot that boys needed to consent too and that not every boy wanted sex. Thea could never do that to Ben, and if he wanted to wait a hundred years before they did anything, or maybe just never at all, then she'd happily settle for holding his hand and sharing kisses for the rest of their lives.

Ben hurriedly nodded his head, trying to lean into her space and capture her lips with his again, but the serious look in her eye made him stop and answer seriously. "Yes, Thea. I want this more than anything else in my life. I want you.  _I need you,_ " he said earnestly, repeating her earlier words.

Thea nodded once before cupping the back of his neck and smashing their lips together, their kisses sloppy and rushed, both desperately wanting to get as close to the other as possible and too fervent for technique. Their kissing became more passionate as Thea moved closer and threw one leg over his, straddling Ben's lap and wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in closer. They both moaned into the kiss at the new position, Thea rubbing against Ben's lap in the most intimate way, sending pleasurable shivers down both their spines.

Thea could feel herself flushing, her body feeling hot while the pit of her stomach began tightening as she felt Ben harden from beneath her, the new sensation made Thea clench her thighs in desire.

Realising he was too damn respectful for his own good, Thea decided to take charge and took a hold of Ben's hands - that had previously been hovering an inch from her body - and guided one to her small waist and the other to her clothed breasts, humming in approval when he tightened his grip in response, cupping her chest with more confidence.

They continued kissing, Thea swiping her tongue across the boy's lower lip demanding entrance and thoroughly mapping out Ben's mouth. She began moaning as the boy's large hand caused goosebumps to appear on her body as it slipped from her breasts and caressed her neck, reaching the ends of her long hair, wrapping it around his hand before tugging in a teasing manner. She groaned at the action, pushing herself further into Ben's lap, wanting to feel more of his hard length against her inner thigh.

Thea was suddenly flipped over; her blonde hair was sent flying and landed around her face like a halo as she gazed up into Ben's dark eyes. He still held a slightly shy countenance - something he'd never lose, and that Thea loved about him - but his gaze was considerably harder than normal, his eyes dark with lust. He lowered his head and began kissing her neck eagerly, Thea moaning turned on by his show of dominance.

She impatiently tugged at the bottom of his white shirt, wanting to see her love in all his tanned glory. Thea  _loved_  Ben's skin and could honestly wax poetry at his natural sun-kissed complexion. Ben seemed to get the message as he leant back, pulling his shirt over his head and threw it off the side of the bed uncaringly, staring down at the beauty that lay beneath him. His confidence seemed to falter slightly once he realised how vulnerable he was compared to Thea, yet he shivered when her dainty hands began running over his exposed chest, her gaze showing desire and  _hunger_.

"Beautiful," Thea whispered as she leant forward to kiss the boy's collarbones, watching in fascination and pride as his neck flushed red at her comment, Thea following his blush with her lips.

Desperate for skin-on-skin contact with her love, Thea moved back and swiftly removed her crop top, smiling fondly as she heard Ben's shocked squeak as she didn't stop with her top and unhooked her bra too, letting it fall to the sheets below. The black lace contrasted against the stark white of the sheets but neither paid it any mind, too enraptured with the other, their heated gazes roaming the others naked bodies hungrily.

Thea supposed she should have felt more embarrassed at being so shamefully exposed, but she'd grown up with Ben her whole life, she trusted nobody else but her twin as much as she did him, and they both knew everything about the other. The good and the bad, meaning nothing could truly make Thea ashamed or anxious in front of Ben. She trusted his love for her, just like he was trusting her, too.

Neither needed to feel ashamed or embarrassed about their bodies when they were with the loves of their lives, for they knew that what they had was true. True love was when you loved somebody wholeheartedly; flaws and all. True love was when somebody was so imperfectly perfect that nothing they could do, say, or be would dampen your love for them. Nothing could divide you but death, and even then, Thea would never give up her love for Ben Hargreeves.

_Till Death do us part._ _Until we meet again and our souls shall be complete once more._

Thea gently guided his shaking hands back to her chest, biting her lip to try and unsuccessfully stifle her moan when his thumb brushed over her nipple. She keened in pleasure when the boy followed that with his lips, sucking and devouring her sensitive buds with a vigour she hadn't known he possessed.

Thea gripped the back of his head, her fingers tangling into the small hairs on his lower neck and pulled him closer to her body, craving more of his addictive attention. She moaned his name in praise as she felt his teeth lightly scrape across her pale, fragile skin and knew she'd be sporting love bites tomorrow morning. Her thighs clenched at the alluring thought of being covered in possessive marks that showed just  _who_  she belonged to.

The two continue to kiss and grind upon one another, though Thea soon got fed up at being half-dressed and pulled away to stand, impatiently unbuttoning her jeans before shimmying out of them, allowing her underwear to be taken off with them. She smirked as Ben's eyes widened at her suddenly exposed figure, his eyes lowering to her flat stomach and creamy thighs, gulping as he took in her beauty.

Thea delicately knelt onto the bed beside the boy and hooked her fingers into his waistband, looking up at her lover through fluttering lashes, unknowingly portraying the most alluring image.

With her soft golden hair and delicate features, not to mention her creamy porcelain skin, Thea looked like a nymph from the mythology books Ben liked to read, and when she tilted her head to the side, showing her delicate, long neck, Ben knew he was enraptured. He had the most mesmerising and captivating creature he'd ever seen looking up at him for permission to make love to her and Ben struggled to get the words out of his mouth, simply nodding in reply to her silent question. He watched as she slowly pulled his trousers and underwear down and over his hipbones, exposing his hardened member to her curious eyes.

They were now more vulnerable than ever, both naked and exposed for the other's gaze, but neither allowed their nerves to get in the way of what they both wanted. What they both  _craved._ Their eyes met, and Ben gave her a loving smile which she returned, a slight giggle leaving her lips as all her anxiety washed away under his fond gaze.

"I want to make you feel good," she whispered as her eyes flickered from his eyes and trailed down his body. Ben gulped at the sudden change in her expression and felt his fingers twitch with the need to touch her.

Thea looked down at his member and tilted her head in a way that defied her confidence, her innocence making it hard for her to believe how it was going to fit  _inside_  her. She bit her lower lip and breathed out a shaky breath, tentatively reaching forward to trace her finger over the tip, enjoying the way it twitched from her actions and the sudden moan from Ben above her.

She glanced at the boy, smiling at his expression of pleasure and with newfound confidence wrapped her hand around his length, keeping her gaze on Ben's face. His eyes were closed, and his lips parted as he panted from the feeling of her warm hand, her thumb swiping the precum that had collected at the tip and using it to glide along his length with ease.

Thea unconsciously licked her lips at the alluring sight Ben made, his golden skin beginning to glisten with sweat and without thinking twice, she leant down and wrapped her lips around the tip, smiling as much as she could when Ben jolted up with shock at her sudden move. Both of his hands tangled into her hair as she continued to suck lightly, and his eyes widened in desire as he began tugging her hair in response. Thea moaned at the feeling of her hair being pulled and Ben groaned at the vibrations around his cock, tugging harsher as she liked it.

As Thea continued bobbing her head enjoying the taste of her love, Ben could feel the coil in his stomach threatening to snap and reluctantly pulled her head away from his lap, cupping her face in his hands as she looked up at him in question. "I don't want to come without you," he whispered as he leant down to kiss her pouting lips softly.

Thea smiled at the boy's caring nature, licking her lips and tasting the precum, Ben groaning deeply at the alluring sight she made. Thea pushed him back onto the bed and leant over his chest to rummage in her duffle bag, ignoring the boy who gazed at her uncovered breasts with desire. With a grin she found what she was looking for and hurriedly - yet very carefully - ripped open the foil packaging of the condom, not wanting it to break. Ben watched and reached forward to take it off her, murmuring that he could do it himself, but Thea pushed him back down, wanting to do it herself.

She placed it on carefully before rolling it down his length and pinching the tip once she was done, just as she'd researched a couple of weeks ago - something that she'd found immensely embarrassing when Klaus had caught her reading a book labelled  _'Safe sex and how to please your partner'_. She glanced up at Ben to see him already watching her fondly, she giggled and smiled back a little shy at his attention.

She went to lie down on the bed but Ben's hands on her waist stopped her before she could, and she tilted her head in confusion. Ben saw her look and explained, "I think maybe you should be on top...you know- so you can, um, control how  _it_  goes." His voice was quiet, and his gaze flickered between her and the room as though embarrassed by his lack of knowledge, though why he would be when Thea was just as inexperienced was beyond her.

She smiled at his considerate suggestion, leaning down to kiss his lips passionately, pouring all her love and gratitude into the kiss. She pulled back and straddled his lap, biting her lip as heat instantly pooled in her lower stomach at their close proximity and the feeling of his length against her soft inner thigh.

As slowly as she could, she took a hold of his cock and lowered herself onto it, grimacing at the sudden shooting pain that followed almost immediately. Ben's hands were holding her waist and he clenched tightly at the warmth and pleasure that shot through his body at the feeling of her enveloping him. But he felt guilty at feeling so good when he heard Thea's pained whimpers. 

Wanting to help soothe her pain, he rubbed soothing circles onto her soft hips, trusting her to take her time and understand what she wanted - trusting she'd stop if it got too much. He wanted Thea to be able to control just how fast they did this, wanting her to feel comfortable and set her own pace.

"Take your time, I-I can wait forever if you need it," he said through clenched teeth, trying not to moan at how amazing she felt.

Thea nodded absentmindedly at his comment, taking calming breaths to try and ease her through the pain. It wasn't as sharp as before but left a dull ache that made her hips feel too small and her lower stomach taut. She recalled something she'd read about making a woman's first time more pleasurable and moved her hand down between their joined bodies to rub her fingers against her core, humming at the sudden spark of pleasure it brought her and how it relaxed her taut muscles.

After a few minutes, the ache began to lessen and instead pleasure took over, Thea moaning as she sunk lower onto Ben's cock, enjoying the full feeling it left her with. The boy let his head drop back onto the pillow as Thea relaxed and they both could enjoy the immense pleasure of being so intimately connected.

"Move," Thea whispered into the silence of the room and Ben granted her wish, lightly moving his hips upwards and pushing himself further inside her, enjoying the surprised moan she let out in response. Setting a steady rhythm, the two teens slowly moved together moaning at the new and wonderful sensations they were both experiencing.

Ben opened his eyes to gaze at the girl above him, marvelling at her beauty and wondering just how he got so lucky. Her golden hair fell into her flushed face and her thick lashes framed gorgeous blue eyes that looked back at him, clouded with desire and love. Ben moaned at the perfection she portrayed and moved his hand down to replace her own, wanting to pleasure her himself and make her first time the best it could possibly be, something she only deserved.

"Ben, please. B-Ben," Thea panted out, moaning his name incoherently at how different and amazing it felt to have somebody else's fingers there instead of her own. She threw her head back when his thumb brushed her clit, pushing her body further into his lap, wanting to feel his cock buried inside her as deep as possible.

Thea's high-pitched and needy whines were sending Ben over the edge, and he finally snapped, using his strength to flip them both over and caging her in as her head hit the soft pillow beneath her. He took Thea's arms and held them above her head, gazing into her wide eyes with a burning desire, enjoying her reaction to him taking control.

Thea licked her lips at his actions, loving how primal and dominant Ben was acting and wanting  _more_.

"You drive me crazy," Ben murmured as he kissed her neck messily, too riled up as he continued thrusting into her tight heat. Thea wrapped her legs around his waist, crossing her ankles to pull him in as deep as possible, throwing her head back with a pleasurable whine as he hit a spot inside her that made her vision blur. Seeing her reaction, Ben's lips tugged into a satisfied smirk and positioned himself to hit that same spot again.  _And again and again._

Thea was a moaning mess, ripping her arms from under his hold to wrap them around his neck desperately, clinging onto him for dear life as he continued hitting that same spot with vigour, quickening his thrusts as he began losing himself in the immense pleasure she offered.

Their foreheads touched as they whispered their love for one another desperately, not able to speak coherently as their rushed movements took their breath away.

Thea was panting and begging under her breath,  _'Faster. Faster Ben, please. Harder'_ between moans and Ben was too caught up marking her neck with his teeth to reply, only complying by speeding up his thrusts and pushing into the writhing girl harder and harder.

Thea's eyes were closed tightly as she saw stars behind her eyelids, the darkness being replaced by bright spots of red and white. After what felt like hours of burning pleasure, Thea finally felt the tightening coil in her stomach snap and she cried out Ben's name as her whole body shuddered from her release, unconsciously tightening around his cock and her thighs clenching around his waist as she rode out her orgasm.

Ben grit his teeth at the feeling of Thea's body shaking beneath him and finally let himself go, having held back desperately, wanting her to come first. With a harsh kiss against her lips, Ben followed Thea over the edge.

 

All that could be heard in the quiet hotel room was the heavy breathing of the two teens as they came down from their euphoria. The light from the outside traffic bled into the dark room shadowing their figures, passing light from a car briefly illuminating their exposed figures through the closed curtains. Ben had slid out of Thea and now held her close to him, the girl's head laying on his naked chest, listening to his erratic heartbeat.

After finishing, Ben had gone to the bathroom to get a washcloth and had returned to the room and began gently wiping down their bodies that were damp with sweat. Thea had watched the boy delicately wipe down her stomach and thighs with love shining in her eyes, disbelieving at just how caring and affectionate Ben Hargreeves could be. He constantly surprised her, and she never quite got over how madly in love with him she was.

They both lay side by side in the crisp white sheets in a comforting silence, which Thea soon broke as she leant up to place a lingering kiss upon Ben's collarbone, being too short to reach his lips.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

Ben stroked her hair as he replied, a happy smile on his face. "And I love  _you_  more than anything else in this entire world," he said sincerely, making Thea's heart skip a beat and a bashful smile appearing on her face.

Thea felt the little energy she had slowly leaving, letting her heavy eyelids close after a few futile moments of trying to keep them open. She calmed her breathing in tune to the beat of Ben's heart. Ben's fingers continued running through her hair, gently untangling the knots that had formed and massaged her temple. Both teens enjoyed their moment together, thankful to be able to act like normal teenagers in love for even  _one night_.

Ben's eyes fluttered shut as Thea's soft sleeping breaths reached his ears, falling into dreamland alongside her, a content smile on his face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! I hope this was okay...I kinda suck at writing smut and this took me forever because I kept laughing and going back to fix things that sounded silly.
> 
> Honestly, Thea and Ben have ruined me for any other couples in my stories, I enjoy writing them so much haha.
> 
> p.s. If you didn't catch the small reference, this is set when they're 16, almost 17. I didn't really want to write underage smut, but in my headcanon, Ben doesn't reach adulthood (otherwise they would've left) and so this was the latest I could really push it :)


	23. II: Trip Down Memory Lane

Thea had decided on a whim that her apartment needed a thorough spring cleaning. It wasn't like her place was a mess, in fact, it was quite the opposite. Thea Hargreeves was what one would call a sufferer of slight OCD tendencies and liked - or more like  _needed_ \- her surroundings to be clean and tidy at all times. She wasn't this way as a child, especially not sharing a room with the likes of Klaus, who she was sure  _still_  didn't know how to use a vacuum cleaner.

It was only as she got older, and she'd begun paying for her own place and realising just how  _bloody expensive_  it was to be a functioning adult that her compulsive attention to detail and keeping everything tidy fully blossomed.

So, here she stood, surrounded by the hundreds of books she'd pulled from her bookshelves while dusting and all the boxes containing her memories in, hands on her hips and slightly regretting even starting such a monstrous task. She huffed, blowing the pale strand of hair from her face where it'd fallen from its messy bun.

Eyeing the boxes, her gaze caught a pastel blue photo album, and almost as though in a daze, the girl walked across her laminate flooring, stepping over piles of books as she went toward the box. She crouched down to retrieve the album, her fingers squeezing the book tightly not believing she'd forgotten about it until now.

Shakily, she walked over to sit on her sofa, disregarding the mess that surrounded her, too caught up in the small square photo album she held. With tentative hands, she opened up the cover to reveal the first page, where a frayed polaroid was displayed in the centre. The picture was of two children, both sleeping and wrapped within a large, fluffy pink duvet. The girl looked pale and flushed while the boy was frowning even in his sleep, though his arms were wrapped around her waist tightly, as though protecting her from the world and assuring himself she was still with him.

Thea's eyes watered at the photo, her mind flashing back the day the photo was taken...

 

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The two children slept peacefully despite the swarm of blankets that covered them and the constant sniffles of the smaller girl, both of them were comfortable and safe within each other's arms.

That was until they heard a laugh which startled them awake and the sound of a camera shutter following shortly after. Confused, the girl groaned and rubbed her tired eyes, leaning on her elbow and peering over the pink duvet to see her twin laughing as he held a large camera in his hands.

The boy beside her groaned at the high-pitched giggles and his eyes fluttered open, peering into the sudden light in confusion. Thea smiled at her brother fondly, ruffling his messy bed-head, knowing her own probably wasn't much better. Five frowned and swatted at her playful hands, though his eyes shone with amusement as he gazed at her own messy blonde locks.

At the continued sound of laughing, both children sat up and stared at the intruder unimpressed at having been woken up.

"Klaus, what the hell do you want?" Five muttered darkly, squinting his eyes at his brother.

Klaus grinned cheekily at the two, waving a small square polaroid in his hand mockingly, "Just capturing this memorable moment of two teeny tiny pipsqueaks sleeping like babies."

Five glared at the jab at his height, though Thea just huffed, having made her peace with being so short, not caring anymore that all her siblings towered over her. Even Vanya, who was the second smallest of the Hargreeves children had a good inch or two on Thea at this point.

Thea yawned and brought her hand up to cover it politely, her sniffing reminding her of why exactly she was in bed cuddling up to Five. "Klaus, I'm tired. Did you want anything?" she asked as nicely as possible, too tired to put up with her twin's antics when she was sick.

Klaus' eyes softened at her flushed skin and red nose, walking over to the two and handing the polaroid to his sister. He ruffled her messy locks like she'd done to Five a minute ago and sent her a goofy smile. "Nope," he said, popping the 'p'. "Just wanted to see how you were doing and couldn't resist taking such a cute photo."

Thea looked down at the photo of her and Five, both asleep with peaceful expressions on their faces and smiled, humming her agreement.  _We certainly do look cute._

Five let out an unimpressed huff and Klaus turned to smirk at the boy, "Besides, this  _is_  my room too, you know. I could have easily stayed with you," he told them. Thea sent her twin a grateful smile, shaking her head. "No. I didn't want you getting ill too, Klausy."

"So why's Five here? Last I checked, he isn't immune to getting sick," he whined as he pointed a finger towards said boy. Five turned away, not deeming a response necessary, but Thea smiled at her two brothers, her heart warmed at both their care as she explained just why Five had stayed with her.

"I'd forgotten to take my medicine and Five brought it to me," she admitted. "I didn't like the taste because, honestly, that stuffs gross...but he said, and I quote,  _'Seriously, take your medicine or I'll shove it down your throat'_ and refused to move until I did."

Klaus laughed at the mental image she described, Thea joining him as they both glanced at Five, noticing the slight flush on his neck as he continued staring out her bedroom window.

"You're too stubborn," Five muttered petulantly.

"Um,  _excuse me_ , pot calling the kettle black, much?" Thea shot back, smirking when he turned to her with narrowed eyes and a retort on his lips.

Klaus looked between the two and shook his head fondly, turning to leave the room, knowing that once those two began arguing there was no stopping them.

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Coming back from her thoughts, Thea traced the younger Five's face with her finger fondly, her heart aching for her missing brother. It was in moments like this where Thea truly felt her heart breaking. She missed her brother more than anything - only coming second to the thought of Ben - and she still held onto the foolish belief that he'd pop in one day, rambling on about his many adventures in the future and all their problems would be forgotten.

Sighing, Thea let her gaze linger one more moment on the two children captured forever in the shiny polaroid before turning the page.

There, another picture sat, only this time it was of two children not much older than the previous, dressed up in matching Halloween costumes. Thea's previous sombre mood lightened at the fond memory behind the photo, her lips twitching at the corners as she remembered that day...

 

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" _Thea!_  Come on, already! We're going to be late!" a young boy shouted from the bottom of the steps. Hurried footsteps could be heard before a figure appeared on the top of the staircase, dressed up in a red and green suit, sporting a yellow cape that billowed behind her as she ran down the steps.

"Diego, we have plenty of time. Stop whining, that's not very fitting, you know," she chided, pointing to his outfit with a raised brow.

Diego huffed and turned away, muttering a  _'whatever'_  under his breath as he adjusted his bat cowl that covered the top half of his face.

"Neither is being moody like a teenager," Thea sang and laughed when Diego went to hit her shoulder, narrowly missing as she moved back in time.

"Shut up! And p-put on your mask! You're ruining the c-costume!" Diego whined again, stuttering his words as he pointed to Thea's eye mask that she wore hanging from her neck. She hadn't wanted to wear it, it reminded her too much of her own domino mask that all the Umbrella Academy children wore.

"Calm down, bro. I'll take it seriously, okay? Here, look," she said and quickly slipped on her black mask and struck a confident pose, trying to ignore just how ridiculous her costume actually was and concentrating on pleasing her brother, who'd wanted this since last Halloween.

Matching costumes, something Thea only ever did with her twin - normally the two choosing something fitting like Mario and Luigi, Micky and Minnie, or even that one time they'd worn those ridiculous red onesies and blue wigs and gone as Thing 1 and Thing 2 - but this time she'd given in to Diego's demands of joining him in matching outfits.

This year, they were  _Batman and Robin_.

Honestly, Thea was dumbstruck why she had to be Robin and wear the stupid gaudy outfit but just figured her brother wanted to be the cool one and went with it. Though, why she couldn't have been Catwoman or even the Joker was beyond her. Thea would have much preferred dressing up as a psychotic jester than  _Robin_.

"We're going to be the best pair," Diego said happily, his white teeth shining as he sported a large grin. Thea smiled at her brother's excitement, the sight of his happiness making her less inclined to rip the atrocious outfit from her body and set it on fire.

_As long as he's happy, it's all worth it._  Thea chanted in her mind, gritting her teeth when Luther came running into the hallway holding up a large camera ready to take their photo.

Rolling her eyes, Thea sucked up her pride and moved to stand beside Diego, who was already straightening his back and puffing out his chest as though he were the real Batman.

_Umbrella Academy members dressing up as fictional superheroes? Oh, the irony..._

Thea stood beside him and struck a pose, her hands on her hips and a cheeky smile on her face, trying to portray the innocent sidekick to her best abilities, staring straight ahead as the camera flashed, capturing the moment forever.

**━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━**

 

Thea was laughing as she flicked to the next page, enjoying the trip down memory lane and how it brought up so many old memories she'd honestly forgotten. A fond yet melancholic smile appeared on her face as she looked at the next image, one of two blonde teens who stood confidently decked in domino masks and black catsuits, their faces holding a refined pride that defied their young ages...

 

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"Very well done, Number Zero, Number One. You have successfully completed your first ever mission alone and have done the Umbrella Academy proud," Reginald Hargreeves spoke, his tone held authority and a hint of pride, something the two children before him had never heard coming from his lips before.

Both were speechless and simply gave their father curt nods at his praise. The man snapped the book he always wrote in shut and turned sharply to his desk, bringing out of a drawer a heavy camera. Thea wanted to raise a brow in confusion, but held back and kept her expression stoic, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"To commemorate this achievement and showcase the impressive power of the Umbrella Academy, we shall photograph you both. This will hopefully remind everybody here that we do not accept failure and that the Umbrella Academy is a force to be reckoned with."

Hargreeves' words were blunt and to the point, and Thea honestly expected nothing else, his previous pride had been replaced by expectations and orders to achieve even  _more_. Thea held back a sigh of disappointment and continued to remain impassive.

"Now, stand tall and show just what members of the Umbrella Academy portray," Hargreeves ordered, prompting the two teens to stand tall and keep their backs straight.

Both their faces adopted stoic expressions, portraying themselves as though above everybody else and it was a mask so easily slipped into that Thea often wondered just where the line blurred between their true personalities and their Umbrella Academy personas.

The camera flashed, capturing the powerful image of the two teenage superheroes and Hargreeves gave a curt nod at the developed image before turning and leaving the room, not even spearing a second look in his children's direction.

Thea saw Luther's shoulders sag from the corner of her eye at their father's retreating back and felt her heart ache for her brother. He put too much faith in seeing the best in their father, while Thea had given up on trying to seek comfort from a man too cold-blooded to even name his own children.

She turned to her much taller brother, having to crane her neck upwards to meet his gaze, her head only reaching his abdomen. Thea linked her arm with his, smiling as he turned to her in confusion.

"How about we go see the others and tell them how badass we were earlier? I'm sure they'd love to hear how you threw that one guy so hard he flew through not one, but  _three_  brick walls," she suggested, grinning as Luther smiled in response and nodded his head.

She was happy she'd managed to take his mind from their disappointing father, wanting him to focus on the good job he'd done, and that no matter how dismissive their father would be of all his hard work, his siblings would always be there to listen to him.

Thea would always be there to listen and praise him for his achievements, no matter how small or inconsequential they were. She'd always remind Luther just how much his efforts mattered.

**━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━**

 

Thea turned the page again, a bright smile tugging at her lips at the sight of two small girls wearing summer dresses and flower crowns on their heads as they grinned up at the camera with excited grins...

 

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It was a warm, summers day and two girls sat in the Academy garden on the lush, green grass soaking up as much sun as possible while their free time lasted.

Thea was laid on her front, concentrating on threading the stem of a daisy through another, humming quietly as she worked. A cool breeze passed by, making her blonde hair sway in the wind, and as Thea went to tuck it back behind her ear, she spotted her sister frowning as she gazed at the Academy walls.

"You know, you shouldn't frown," Thea said into the silence, catching the girl's attention as she turned to listen. "Because someone could be falling in love with your smile."

Vanya blushed at Thea's comment, tucking her brown hair behind her ear shyly, peeking up at her sister under her lashes. "I-I don't think, I mean- I don't think anyone would-"

Thea cut off Vanya's stuttering with her own words, "Don't say  _'nobody would fall in love with my smile'_  because I call total bullshit, you have a lovely smile, Vanya. I think you should smile more," Thea told her honestly, smiling at her sister reassuringly.

"Y-You do?" Vanya asked shyly, letting her hair fall to her face to hide her embarrassed blush.

Thea hummed in reply, going back to threading her daisies, having almost finished her creation. "It always makes  _me_  smile when you do. Do you think I have a pretty smile?" she asked her sister, grinning when Vanya's eyes went wide at the question.

She giggled, "It's not a trick question, sis."

Vanya smiled and ran her fingers through the grass beneath her absentmindedly, glancing up at Thea who was concentrating on a few flowers in her hands, though Vanya wasn't sure exactly what she was doing.

"I think you have the prettiest smile," Vanya whispered, admitting it so quietly that Thea almost missed her words, but she didn't and turned to grin at her sister.

Before Vanya could run away out of awkwardness or embarrassment, Thea sprang from her sitting position and moved closer to the brunette, clutching the flowers in her hands.

Once the blonde sat in front of her sister, she leant forward and delicately placed one of the flower crowns she'd been making upon Vanya's soft hair. She followed that by placing the other crown upon her own head, grinning at their matching accessories.

"Wait there!" Thea said and quickly jumped up to run inside the Academy, leaving Vanya sitting on the grass touching the flower crown that sat upon her head with pink cheeks.

A few minutes later, Thea came running back outside dragging Allison behind her, who held a big camera in her hands. Thea let go of Allison and took Vanya's hand, turning them both to face their other sister who now held the camera by her eye ready to capture the moment.

"Say cheese!" Allison said happily.

**"Cheese!"**  Thea and Vanya said in unison, huge grins on their faces, happy to be spending time with each other in the lovely summer sun.

**━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━**

 

Thea laughed lightly at the next photo, enjoying the memories that came with these two particular photos. Her relationship with her sisters had always been special, them being the only girls in the Academy. However, once Allison had begun becoming popular and had stopped putting in the effort to hang out with Vanya, it had put a strain on their friendship. It didn't help matters when Vanya began pulling away from them all and becoming more reclusive.

Thea looked down at the next polaroid that displayed two girls' faces close up, the photo reminiscent of a modern-day selfie...

 

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"I just don't get it! Why can't he see that I like him in  _that_  way?" Allison whined as she continued painting Thea's nails a glittering gold. Said girl pursed her lips at her sister's question, trying to come up with a helpful answer to her current problems.

"Why not just tell him?" Thea suggested. Though she raised a brow when Allison shot her sister a disbelieving glare.

_"Just tell him?_  Oh yeah, because that's  _so_  easy!" Allison said while waving her arm around in exasperation. Thea leant back to avoid the gold nail polish she wielded like a weapon, not really wanting her face to be covered in the sticky gloop.

"I mean, it kinda is, right? What's the worst that could happen?" Thea said uncaringly, not understanding why Allison didn't just tell Luther how she felt. The pair weren't exactly subtle in their glances at one another, and Thea was surprised their father hadn't yet figured it out.

"So why don't  _you_ do it, then?" Allison shot back, continuing to paint Thea's nails, her earlier rant forgotten. Thea raised a brow at her sister's comment.

"Me? What are you on about?" she asked.

Allison scoffed and rolled her eyes like the teenager she was, "You know what I'm talking about.  _You and Ben,_ " she said as though Thea was stupid.

Thea choked on air at her comment and cursed as she felt her cheeks heating up. She glared at Allison who now wore a smug grin while watching her sister's embarrassment. "There is no  _me and Ben!_  I don't know what you're on about," she denied hotly.

Allison chuckled and sported a superior grin as though she knew something Thea didn't. She hummed disbelievingly, " _Sure_ , just like you don't both hold hands and glance at one another at the table, or what about that one time he called you beautiful and you blushed like a-"

"Okay! Okay!" Thea cut her off, her cheeks now a dark red as she listed her and Ben's  _moments_. She coughed and glanced away from a grinning Allison, "Okay...so  _maybe_  I might like him...but-but that doesn't mean you can't ask Luther! Don't try changing the subject!" she shouted and huffed childishly as Allison continued laughing at her.

After a few moments of listening to Allison's laughter, Thea gave up and joined in, honestly amused at both of their childishness. Allison fell into a heap against her sister's side, her wild, curly hair tickling her neck as she lent her head against Thea's shoulder.

_"Boys_. I honestly don't know why I like them so much," Allison drawled. Thea laughed at her sister's annoyance at her teenage hormones.

"Well, it's lucky I like both, then. Maybe I can dodge all the  _boy troubles_  and date a girl instead," Thea teased her sister who pouted at Thea's 'solution' to their boy issues.

"Yeah, well, when I'm famous I'm going to find the  _perfect man_  and if Luther still doesn't like me, then maybe I deserve better," Allison said, her chin tilted up defiantly. Thea smiled at her sister, admiring her self-respecting attitude.

A lot of people thought of Allison as stuck up or selfish, but Thea knew her sister just wanted what was best for herself and refused to take less. When something didn't go Allison's way, she was always determined to make it right and get what she wanted. Her go-get-it attitude was something Thea admired most about her sister.

"I agree. If Luther can't see what a wonderful person you are, then you can find somebody else. Though, I  _do_ think he likes you...I think he's just too caught up in Dad's stuff to do anything about it," Thea said. Allison nodded, agreeing with her observation. She was sad that the boy she liked cared more about missions than her.

"Besides, if you're truly meant to be together, life will find a way to make it happen," Thea commented, believing that philosophy to be true.

A few moments of silence passed, both girls enjoying the comfort the other offered and deep in thought, Thea glanced at her dry nails, admiring the glittering gold polish and how they shined in the light.

Allison suddenly shot up, making Thea fall sideways onto the bed, making an  _'oof'_  sound as she did. She glanced up at her sister who was rummaging in her drawer, shouting out in glee as she held up a pink camera like a trophy.

"Found it! Let's forget all this depressing talk about boys and take a picture instead!" she suggested as she walked over to the bed, climbing on and settling herself next to Thea.

"These kinds of faces need to be seen on the cover of  _magazines_ ," Allison drawled snootily, making Thea giggle, "and it's simply a  _crime_  for us to  _not_  capture our beauty."

Both girls fell into a fit of giggles at Allison's pretentious act. Allison held up the bright pink camera that was covered in stickers up in front of them, holding it backwards so that they could take a close-up photo of their faces, which were now squished together cheek-to-cheek grinning happily.

"3...2...1...say cheese!"

**━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━**

 

Thea had been laughing as she gazed at the photo of her and Allison, her mind going back to their young years as teenagers and how stereotypical her and Allison's sleepover nights used to be. She flicked the photo album onto the next page, smiling fondly at the photo displayed.

The twins stood side-by-side, both dressed up and decked in full-makeup and posing at the camera, who Thea remembered was held by their best friend...

 

**━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━**

Two teens were laying on a bed, both staring up at the ceiling as they shared a joint between them. The boy took a deep drag before passing it over to his sister, the girl doing the same and breathing out slowly, her mind calm and dazed.

The twins were both enjoying their free-time away from the hustle of the Academy and their overdemanding father.

"I'm bored," the boy drawled as he took another drag of the joint and let out a content sigh.

The girl huffed in amusement. "Klaus, when are you ever  _not_  bored?" Thea asked rhetorically.

She got an agreeing hum in reply and rolled her head to look over at her twin, her eyes roaming over his pale skin and wild curls. Thea racked her mind for something they could do, and her lips curled into a smirk as her eyes landed on their shared closet.

"I have an idea," Thea announced, making Klaus turn to her with a raised brow. "Oh yeah, and what is this grand idea, dear sister of mine?"

Thea shot up from her lying position, ignoring Klaus' whine of disapproval at her moving from his arms and walked over toward their closet, opening the doors with a flourish. Klaus sat up from the bed, his bare feet dangling over the edge as he watched his twin in amusement.

Thea turned to Klaus and gestured toward her clothes dramatically, "They're all yours, Klausy. Pick whatever you want and let's play dress-up."

Klaus grinned at her suggestion, putting out the joint in the ashtray on his bedside table and stumbling over toward Thea, running his hands over her many skirts and dresses. "You sure?" he asked quietly, his eyes taking in all the options available, not knowing which to choose first.

Thea scoffed, "Of course I am, I honestly don't know why I didn't suggest it before."

Klaus wasted no time and grabbed a pleated maroon skirt alongside a sheer lace black top, running his fingers through the soft material in wonder and grinning up at his twin. Thea smiled fondly at her brother, enjoying seeing him so free and uncaring of the strict rules often placed on them by their father.

She picked out a silver sequin dress for herself, enjoying the way it glittered in the light and complimented her pale complexion. She hurriedly changed out of her uniform and put the dress on, walking over to her dressing table and switching on her straighteners before taking out some of her favourite make-up. Thea wasn't as inclined to wear as much make-up as her sister, Allison, but she did still have enough products on hand to give someone a stellar makeover.

She turned her head at the sound of Klaus' muttering and giggled at his state. The boy was hopping around trying to get his lanky legs into the skirt, cheering in joy once it was over his hips and settled on his waist.

He turned to Thea and gestured to himself, striking a pose, "And how do I look, sis?" His voice was normal but she could hear the nervous undertone in his question, she smiled brightly at his attire and put his worries at ease.

"Dude,  _fuck_ gender roles. You rock that skirt better than I do."

The boy grinned widely at her compliment and did a small twirl with his normal dramatic flair.

"Klausy, come here. I'll do your makeup," she commented, waving her brother over. Klaus shuffled to her dresser and sat down on the extra chair.

Thea took out her mascara, concealer and eyeliner and got to work. Her and Klaus were fraternal twins, and so weren't identical, however, they had a lot of the same facial structures such as their high cheekbones and wide eyes and so Thea found it pretty easy to apply the make-up onto his face, making it look softer and bringing out his lovely eyes.

After a few minutes she was done and turned her mirror toward him, so he could check out her handiwork. Thea took her straighteners and began working on her long blonde hair, enjoying the way it became pin-straight and like the girl's in the magazine she'd once read.

Klaus continued checking himself out and Thea giggled at his muttered comments of  _'hello good looking'_  or  _'whose the man? Not me right now'_  and walked toward her door to peer into the hallway.

"Ben! Come here please!" she shouted, though not too loudly as his room was beside the twins' anyway. She heard shuffling before his door opened and Ben's smiling face popped out.

"What's up?" he asked as he padded along the wooden floor toward the girl he loved. Thea grinned and took his hand in hers, dragging him inside her room. Ben let out a surprised squeak at the sudden movement but smiled as he saw what exactly the twins were up to.

Klaus stood up at Ben's arrival and grinned at his best friend, Ben smiling in return, not commenting on his attire as he already knew how fluid Klaus was when it came to his tastes. Ben didn't care what his best friend wanted to wear or act like, he cared for  _Klaus_ and nothing he did could ever drive Ben away.

Thea clapped happily as she looked at her two favourite boys, "Great! So, now Ben's here, he can take our photo because we look  _way_  too good - thanks to me, by the way - to waste this opportunity!"

_"Thanks to you?_  Please, I look this good because of  _me_ ," Klaus argued with a raised chin, acting petulant, though the amused glint in his eyes set off Thea and Ben into giggles, Klaus soon joining in too.

Thea handed her camera - a pale, pastel baby-blue one that was covered in small star stickers - over to Ben, smiling at the boy who looked at her attire with a blush, thinking she looked even more beautiful than normal, something he didn't think was possible.

"Get our good angle, Benny-boy!" Klaus demanded as his sister rushed over toward him and the two of them struck a confident pose, Klaus' arm wrapped around Thea's shoulders, the girl sporting a peace sign and smiling up at the camera.

**━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━**

 

Thea turned the page and her heart stopped at the two seventeen-year-olds that were on the page. A blonde-haired girl stood beside a dark-haired boy who was grinning excitedly, his dark eyes shining in happiness.

 

**━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━**

"Why on earth did I ever agree to see this shit with you two?" Thea commented dryly as they walked down the street toward the cinema.

"Because you  _looooove_ us?" Klaus teased from beside her, jumping back and laughing as he dodged his sister's fist.

A tugging on her hand brought the girl's attention toward the boy next to her, who was wearing a fond grin as he looked down at her. "You know I really appreciate you coming, right?" Ben said, swinging their clasped hands between them as they walked, bringing a light blush onto Thea's cheeks.

_Honestly, since when was it **her** who blushed so much and not Ben? Unacceptable..._

"Whatever, I regret promising to see this nerd event with you both," she said petulantly, though both boys grinned at her comment, not taking her blunt words seriously.

_"Nerd event?_  What does that say about you, little miss Potter-head?" Klaus jested, and Thea scoffed.

_"Please_ , liking Harry Potter is nowhere near as nerdy as watching a Star Wars marathon that's going to last us, like, 7 hours!" Thea rambled, lifting her arms in exasperation bringing Ben's joined hand with her and making the two boys laugh at her frustration.

Ben brought up their clasped hands to his lips and placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles. Klaus wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders, the three teens finally arriving at the cinema where they were faced with a long line of fans, the buzzing noise of excited chatter meeting their ears.

Thea groaned at the size of the line, regretting every life decision she'd ever made as she stood in the blazing heat, realising they'd be here for the next few hours waiting to watch a bloody 7-hour marathon she had no interest in.

_The things I do for the ones I love, I swear to god..._

Klaus and Ben were eagerly debating what parts of the movie they were looking forward to most, and Thea raised a brow as she understood literally zero per cent of what they were saying.

"and the fact that you think Boba Fett isn't a good character just shows how ignorant you are to his importance to the overarching plot, he's more than just a supporting actor, okay, he-" Thea zoned out from Ben's rambling as he argued with Klaus about some guy called  _Bob_  or something and instead glanced around at the crowd, more interested in people watching.

Thea noticed there were more guys than girls, and that the majority of the crowd were wearing merchandise supporting the franchise. Thea glanced down at her denim dungarees and the striped crop top she wore, wondering if she looked out of place. She looked at Ben and Klaus and noticed they both wore Star Wars shirts too, and bit her lip.

_Maybe I should show more support for something they love?_  She had no interest in the movie, but she realised she was being a little too negative and likely dampening the boys' exciting day.

"As adorable as your nerd talk is, I'm going to go find the bathroom. I'll be right back," Thea cut into the boys' conversation, Ben turning to her with red cheeks.

"I'm not  _adorable_ , I'm manly and c-cool and- and definitely not adorable!" Ben rambled out and Thea patted his cheek, grinning at his blush.

"Like I said, Darling.  _Adorable_ ," she pecked his lips and turned away from them both, walking away to find what she was looking for.

She soon found it, and walked toward the merchandise booth, clenching her jaw as she brought out her purse and paid for the $20 shirt, her eye twitching at the insane price for something she didn't even want.

With a resigned sigh, she unbuckled her dungaree straps and pulled the shirt over her crop top, buttoning the denim straps back once it was on. The shirt displayed three figures - two men and a woman with space buns - holding guns and striking confident poses.

Thea wanted to support her boyfriend and her twin in their interests and so swallowed her pride, walking over to a guy she saw in the queue who held a dark blue polaroid camera in his hands and tapped his shoulder. When the boy turned around, Thea sent him a charming grin - one she knew was slightly flirty - and batted her lashes.

"Hi, I was wondering if you'd do me a  _huge_  favour and take mine and my brothers' photo?" she asked sweetly. The boy nodded dumbfoundedly, his ears burning as he stared at the blonde-haired beauty.

With a smile, Thea dragged the boy with her - after asking his friend to save his place in the line, of course - toward Klaus and Ben, the two boys looking toward her and the random boy with raised brows. Thea smirked at Ben's narrowed eyes and stroked her thumb along his knuckles once she stood beside him.

"Loving the shirt, sis," Klaus joked as he looked down at her new top, Ben looking down at her too with a wide grin.

_That smile makes it all worthwhile._

Thea huffed and turned to them both, "Yes, well, I thought it better to have a little team spirit, and this  _lovely man_  here is going to take our photo," she said pointing towards the boy who still stood there staring at Thea with red cheeks. He nodded quickly at her words and held up his camera proudly.

Thea smiled as Ben wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer and grinning up at the camera in joy, his dark eyes that she loved so much were shining with happiness and Thea felt her heart beat rapidly with just how much she loved him.

The camera clicked and captured the moment as Thea stared at the love of her life with a fond smile.

**━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━**

 

Thea's eyes were shining with unshed tears at the last memory, her thumb rubbing along the photo lovingly, her eyes taking in young Ben's happy expression. A loud noise brought her out of her thoughts and she jumped in her spot.

Thea placed the open book down on her side-table beside her open window as her phone rung from the bedroom. She recognised the ringtone as the one she'd specifically set for Klaus and hurriedly got up to answer it. She left the photo album, a new spring in her step as she hopped over the multiple piles of books scattered across her apartment floor and rushed toward the ringing noise.

The wind from the open window fluttered the pages of the album, the sun shining down on the last photo displayed.

Eight young children all grinned happily at whoever had taken their photo, innocent expressions on their faces as they wrapped arms around one another, enjoying their time spent together and unknowing of all the hardships they'd face in the coming years, only relishing in the innocence of youth.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter I promised everybody! I'm sorry it was a little later than the last, I ended up falling asleep while writing it haha.
> 
> I hope people like the inclusion of characters like Diego, Luther, Allison and Vanya in this chapter, I feel bad for focusing more on Five, Ben and Klaus and so wanted to do something that included everybody :) I thought the photo album idea was pretty sweet, as I'm very big on keeping photos from my childhood, too.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think, I always love hearing comments ❤❤


	24. II: Power Struggle

**Thea had never regretted sharing a room with her twin**  quite as much as when she awoke, for the third time that week, to his incessant ramblings in a dream.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried singing in her head to cut out his obnoxious thoughts that were practically being screamed within his mind. His dream was being broadcasted loud and clear for Thea to hear and because she wasn't actually  _in_ the dream with Klaus, it was simply annoying.

This wasn't the first time she'd developed a headache over this problem, and Thea was slowly losing her mind over her inability to disconnect from those around her.

Hargreeves had already eagerly begun her training in controlling people – a part of her ability she hadn't thought possible until a few years ago when she'd wanted nothing more than to skip training and during a tantrum, had unknowingly controlled their Father into letting them off.

Hargreeves hadn't been too pleased with her actions, but his eagerness over developing her powers seemed to soothe some of the upset of being mind controlled by a ten-year-old child.

Giving up on getting any more sleep, Thea huffed and threw the cover off her body, slipping her feet into a pair of bunny slippers and tiptoeing out of the room, though not before shooting her sleeping brother a glare.

It's not like it was Klaus' fault he dreamt so loudly, but Thea wasn't in a forgiving mood and was fed up of the constant headaches and her siblings avoiding her in case she went rifling through their heads.

_As if I want to know their stupid secrets, anyway._

That, of course, was a total lie. Thea wouldn't admit it aloud, but she'd taken great pleasure in her ability throughout the years and had amassed a plentiful amount of blackmail material on all her brothers and sisters.

She had some on their father too, but sometimes she'd come across blank spaces in her memory that confused her greatly. She often wondered if there was something she was supposed to remember but had forgotten...but soon pushed it away.

The only person capable of erasing their memories was Allison, and Thea trusted her sister would never intentionally do such a thing.

It had always been thought that telepathy was Thea's only ability, and she'd been limited to using it only when concentrating on someone specifically.

However, after her rather impressive display of mind control, Hargreeves had experimented with her limits and the expansion of her abilities seemed to have opened up a hailstorm of painful consequences he wasn't able to remedy.

She was suffering migraines daily and was sometimes unable to distinguish what was said aloud and what wasn't. To put it lightly, it made Thea a very grumpy girl – something that scared her family as a powerful ability like mind control in the hands of an annoyed and frustrated twelve-year-old wasn't ideal.

The soft pattering of her slippers against the wooden stairs helped soothe her headache a little, and Thea tried focusing on the light ticking of the clocks to block out everything else. 

Luckily, the Academy was large enough that her siblings were mostly spread out and with everyone asleep, Thea could bask in the silence.

She padded into the kitchen and went straight toward the cupboards, pulling out the jar that held the teabags and flicking on the kettle. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try and alleviate some of the pain but knew it was futile. She couldn't even take medication as it had no effect against the constant drilling of noise.

The kettle whistled to signal it was done and Thea poured the boiling water into her favourite mug, adding sugar and milk and wrapping her hands around the steaming beverage. She sat down on one of the kitchen chairs and kicked her feet up onto the table in a relaxed position.

She swayed her feet side to side, staring at the bunny slippers she wore. They were a fluffy pastel pink and had cute floppy ears on top that tickled her ankles whenever she moved.

Thea breathed a sigh of relief when she sipped the warm tea, basking in the sweet taste and taking comfort in such a simple action. Her life was filled with such chaos that simple moments were hard to come by.

Footsteps were heard coming into the kitchen and Thea was about to snap for them to  _please_ leave her alone but she stopped when she saw who it was.

Five.

He was dressed in the same pyjamas as her; striped baby blue cotton pants and a button-up top. His eyes were still sleepy and his dark hair was dishevelled. Thea held in a smile at how cute her brother looked in his tired state, knowing she probably didn't fare much better.

Her long golden hair fell down to her waist in a knotted mess and she knew her eyes were heavy from a restless nights sleep, though the tea was helping calm her down.

"You're an early riser," Five commented as he flicked the kettle on and began spooning some coffee into a mug.

He turned back around and leaned against the kitchen counter as he stared at her relaxed position; feet kicked up onto the table and hair flowing behind her as she tilted her head back against the chair to see him.

Thea smiled lightly and hummed. "Klaus was too loud again," she said.

Five nodded, understanding what she meant. They'd all noticed just how tired and frustrated Thea had been recently, but nobody knew how to help. 

Allison and Luther mostly avoided their sister, uncomfortable at the prospect of their secrets being found out, while Diego just whined whenever she accidentally answered his thoughts.

Vanya became flustered whenever Thea would begin assuring her of her worth after a rather self-deprecating thought and Ben was just a blushing mess whenever Thea complimented him back, oblivious that the boy was  _thinking_  those things rather than saying them aloud.

Klaus was her twin and honestly didn't care she could read his every thought. They shared everything and had no secrets between them, so reading his mind didn't faze him. Thea would have felt the same way if Klaus had her powers.

None of them truly cared about Thea's telepathy because they knew she couldn't help it and saw the tole it was taking on her, but some just felt a little uncomfortable with the situation and were lost on how to offer a solution.

Five, the little genius he is, had already devised a way to combat Thea's powers and that's why the girl felt so relieved when she saw it was him entering the kitchen.

Five, like Thea, loved learning new things, especially languages. Thea was already fluent in both German and Russian, while Five knew Italian. 

The boy had theorised that by thinking in another language – one Thea didn't know – that maybe her brain would automatically zone it out easier than English because it would recognise she understood nothing and therefore it became background noise.

He was right, of course, and so Thea often basked in the boy's presence whenever she could, asking Hargreeves to pair them together during training until she could learn to disconnect from everybody around her.

"Do you wanna partner again today?" Five asked, seemingly reading her own mind. He'd finished brewing his coffee and took a seat beside her.

Thea nodded gratefully. "God,  _please_. I'm not sure how much more of Allison's thoughts I can take," she groaned. 

"I get we're the only two girls training and Dad pairs us up for that reason, but if I have to hear about her 10-year plan or how she's going to marry the richest man in the world one more time, I'll commit murder."

Five chuckled at her rant, enjoying her evident suffering. Both siblings had a sarcastic and dark sense of humour and would often joke about becoming the best pair of assassins the world has ever seen when they grew up.

Neither particularly enjoyed being a part of the Umbrella Academy and saving the day. They didn't understand playing the 'hero' in the way that Luther, Diego and Allison embraced it and thought they more likely fit the roles of villains than the good guys.

"If you need help hiding the body, just give me a shout," Five drawled and Thea snorted into her tea.

She fluttered her lashes at Five and dramatically placed her hand on her chest. "Dear brother, you'd do that for  _me?"_  she asked in mock sweetness.

Five smirked and joined in with her playful attitude, enjoying seeing his sister acting more like herself than she has recently.

"Of course, love. I would commit the worst of atrocities for you," he said passionately, waving his hand dramatically.

Both siblings' eyes were alight with humour at their ridiculous acting but they were enjoying it, nonetheless.

"Oh,  _Five_ , how you do make me swoon," Thea declared. "Whatever can I do to repay such undying loyalty?"

Five put his mug down and leant across the table that separated them. He cupped her chin in his hand and adopted a serious expression – though Thea could see the mirth in his eyes.

"I would ask only for your undivided love, my Queen," he muttered.

Thea stared into Five's eyes for a moment before bursting out into laughter, the boy following shortly after. Both siblings sat in hysterics at their silliness and Thea had her arms pressed against her stomach as she felt it cramping from the laughter.

Five had a cocky grin across his face as he watched her laugh, happy he'd managed to take her mind off of her powers, if only for a few moments. 

Thea's boisterous laughter descended into giggles and she wiped away tears from her eyes as she kept replaying Five's words in her head.

This was why she loved him. He never took anything too seriously and knew how to let go and have fun.

"God, you're too good, Five. I'm losing my touch," Thea muttered as she straightened herself from where she'd almost fell over in her laughter.

"You're not too bad yourself, Z. Just don't bat your lashes for any other man, you hear me? You're too good at that flirty shit," he said and Thea giggled again.

" _Flirty shit?_  Really Five, that's the best you've got?" she mocked.

"Shut up, we're  _twelve_."

"Wow, the great and mighty Five is admitting he's still only a child? What's the world come to?" Thea exclaimed sarcastically.

She swiftly moved out of the way of Five's outstretched hand but gasped in surprise when she felt arms suddenly wrap around her waist from behind. 

"That's cheating!" she squeaked.

Five chuckled from behind her, "All's fair in love and war, Z."

"Don't try and act smart. Just admit you cheat!"

Five hummed and Thea cursed her tiny height when he rested his chin on the top of her head. 

"I think you're just jealous I always win our little games," Five said cockily and Thea could practically picture the smug grin he wore.

"All's fair in love and war, huh?" she mumbled.

Before Five could question her vague tone, Thea linked their fingers together to focus purely on Five and connected to his mind.

**"Tell me I'm right."**

Five didn't say anything for a minute and Thea wondered if her recent inability to control her powers had dampened their effectiveness. However, the boy soon spoke through gritted teeth, clearly annoyed at being controlled so easily.

"You're right, Zero."

Thea grinned smugly at his monotone voice, knowing the boy hated whenever she got one-up on him.

**"Let me go, then stay still."**

Five did as told and his arms robotically detached themselves from her form, allowing her to slip free. She turned to face him, not even trying to hide her shit-eating grin as she saw his narrowed eyes and clenched jaw.

She cupped his jaw in her hand and rubbed it soothingly with her thumb. "Don't pout Five, it's unbecoming," she cooed.

Five's eyes flashed angrily, and Thea giggled at his evident frustration. She kissed his cheek before stepping back and slowly moving toward the door.

"Now, I'm going to let you go and you have to promise not to kill me," she said with a giggle.

Five's eyes only narrowed further, and Thea bit her lip to stop her laughter. "Okay, guess not...running it is, then."

Thea immediately ran out of the room, knowing that soon enough Five would regain control of his body when she was too far away to maintain focus. 

She sped up the stairs and soon heard Five's fast footsteps running down the hallway behind her and laughed out in joy at them both acting so childish.

"Zero, come back here!" Five shouted and spatial jumped to the bottom of the steps just as Thea turned the corner.

"Catch me if you can!" she taunted back.

 

∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗

 

Mealtimes in the Academy were always a rather tedious and uncomfortable affair. The Hargreeves children sat silently around the table as they ate their food stiffly, nobody making eye contact with their father who sat at the head upon his regal chair.

Herr Carlson was playing on the record player and the man's monotonous voice droned on about philosophical motivations and whatnot.

**_"...as Nietzsche once said, 'To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.' It is imperative that as human beings we..."_ **

As she sat there listening, Thea's grip on her utensils was so tight her knuckles were white. Carlson's voice was driving her crazy and she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand it. 

Hargreeves was silent as he ate, oblivious to her pain, while the rest of her siblings watched on warily, waiting for her to snap.

What didn't help matters was that she was bombarded with seven voices all at once, all thinking different things and combined with the record player it was slowly driving Thea insane.

_'I give it another minute before she blows...'_

_'Maybe I should leave.'_

_'Uh oh.'_

**_"...a machine does not improve because you cannot programme a fear of death. Our survival instinct as human beings is our greatest..."_ **

_'I don't know how to help. I hate seeing her in pain.'_

_'This won't be good.'_

_'Maybe we should tell Dad.'_

The last one finally made Thea snap and she couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

 **"Shut up!"**  she yelled into the silent dining room.

Everyone watched her cautiously as she pinched the bridge of her nose trying to take calming breaths. Hargreeves opened his mouth to ask her reasoning for interrupting but found himself incapable of speaking.

Thea took a long, calming breath to centre herself, focusing on pushing the constant buzzing of noise into the back of her mind. She felt a hand slip into her own and knew without having to look that it was her twin.

Klaus watched his sister worriedly, noticing the deteriorating effect her power was having on her. He often cursed their luck for being given such mentally debilitating abilities, as neither of them could handle the responsibility that came with their skillset.

With Ben included, Klaus was of the opinion that the three of them got the short end of the stick when it came to their abilities. Sure, they were amazing and powerful, but the cons seemed to far outweigh the pros, unlike the others' gifts.

Allison, Luther and Diego faced virtually no consequences to their powers, and Five had mastered his spatial jumps without any harm done. Vanya was lucky enough to be normal while Ben, Klaus and Thea were stuck with powers that drained them both mentally and emotionally.

Thea was in constant pain and both fearful and guilty of the power she held over someone's very being; Klaus was terrified of the dead and self-medicated to escape the torment; Ben was so afraid and disgusted by the monsters under his skin that he suffered horrible nightmares and poor self-esteem.

Klaus knew what his sister was going through and felt awful that he couldn't do anything more than comfort her, but he squeezed her hand, urging her to focus in on his thoughts and to try blocking out everything else.

Thea concentrated hard and tried connecting only to her twin and nobody else. It didn't quite work as she could still catch the drifting thoughts of everyone else, but it lowered the intensity significantly.

Thea took another deep breath and whispered a quiet ' _thanks_ ' to her brother before turning back to the rest of the table, including her father.

Hargreeves sat imposingly at the head of the table, his expression stern as his steely gaze zeroed in on the girl. Thea understood what his intense stare meant and hastily disconnected from his mind, allowing him to speak again.

"Number Zero, would you like to share with us all your reasoning behind interrupting Herr Carlson?"

Thea's jaw clenched at his patronising tone and she squeezed Klaus' hand even tighter than before.

"It was too noisy. I apologise," she forced out through clenched teeth.

Hargreeves looked at her with his beady eyes, his monocle in place as it always was, only adding to his intimidating visage. "There was no noise, Number Zero."

Thea's eyes narrowed at his tone and she briefly imagined jumping across the table and stabbing him with her bloody fork.

_Maybe then you'd have a reason to wear that stupid monocle, old man._

"The voices were too loud," Thea corrected him.

Hargreeves sniffed haughtily and picked up his utensils to begin eating again, dismissing her explanation. 

"Well then, it looks like you understand what you must accomplish, Number Zero. Take this as a learning experience to master your control."

Thea's eyes were blazing with anger as he spoke and it was only Klaus' hand in hers, and Five's hasty thoughts that stopped her from acting out.

_'Don't, Z. He's not worth it. Just focus on me.'_

Thea did as her brother said and glanced at him down the table, where he was staring directly at her and ignoring his dinner. When she caught his eye, he sent her a small smile and Thea felt her body relax.

Thea knew Five felt just as angry toward their father as he continued dismissing Five's wish to try time-travel.

As reluctant as she was to admit it, Thea agreed with Hargreeves on this point – she didn't think Five was quite ready yet – but she knew he didn't have to be such an asshole about it whenever the boy brought up the topic.

Thea mechanically lifted her hand and began resuming to eat her meal, not really tasting the food as she stared off into the distance. 

The silence only lasted a few minutes before her grip began to tighten again as all the voices filtered back into her head.

It was a vicious cycle. The thoughts caused her to become frustrated, which broke her concentration, meaning more thoughts filtered in, causing even more frustration.

It was never-ending and Thea barely managed to get through dinner without storming upstairs, which would only cause trouble later on from Hargreeves for the 'unsightly childish' display.

When Hargreeves finally finished his meal and delicately wiped his mouth with his napkin, Thea felt like proclaiming her thanks to the gods for allowing the torture to come to an end.

Hargreeves rattled on to them all with his usual spiel of the next day's schedule before dismissing them all and swiftly leaving the room. 

The dining room was left to just the Hargreeves children and Grace – who was busy tidying up in the background.

Thea slumped down in her chair and groaned aloud, ignoring the rest of her siblings. "Thank fuck that's over."

Klaus snorted at her words while Luther gave her a disapproving stare. "Language," he muttered under his breath.

"Oh, shut up you oaf, or else I'll reveal what you think about a certain someone's eyes," she shot back. 

" _How can they be such a deep, complex swirl of colours?_ " she mocked in a bad imitation of his voice.

Luther's eyes widened at her comment and pink dusted his cheeks. The others watched shocked at his uncharacteristic behaviour and glanced between the two.

Thea 1 – Luther 0. 

"Whose eyes?" Allison asked with a glare toward Luther and Klaus snorted at the oncoming drama as the boy tried defending himself.

"Can we leave now?" Diego whined as he pushed the vegetables around on his plate in disgust. Thea eyed the giant knife he was using that was most certainly  _not_  an eating utensil.

"I guess so, the old man's gone," Five drawled as he sat back watching everybody in disinterest.

Vanya stayed mostly quiet as she watched all her siblings talk, though she sent Thea a small smile when their gazes met.

Thea pushed her chair back and stood, chucking her napkin onto the mostly full plate of food. "I'm leaving losers, see you later."

She left before anybody could argue and with quick steps made her way toward the grand staircase.

"Thea, wait!" she heard running behind her and paused when she recognised Ben's voice.

The boy hadn't spoken during dinner and Thea was curious about what he wanted. She watched as he came rushing up the stairs to meet her and they both began walking side-by-side.

"What's up?" she asked.

_'How do I say this without it sounding blunt? Oh god, what if she takes it the wrong way?'_

Ben bit his lip as he resolutely looked away from her, but Thea noticed the slight pink on his cheeks and knew he was nervous by his thoughts. 

"Can you come to my room? I have something to show you."

Thea raised a brow but saw nothing wrong with his question. "Sure," she agreed with a shrug and they both turned to make their way toward his room.

Reaching the door, Ben let them both in and Thea went to sit on the boy's bed, making herself comfy. 

"This better not just be a scheme to get me in your room, you know," she teased as she watched Ben rummage through his drawer.

Ben jumped at her words and cursed as he hit his head on the drawer above him. He turned to glare at her as she laughed, finding his clumsiness endearing.

 _'Her smile's so pretty...'_ Thea politely ignored his thoughts, feeling guilty for invading his privacy. Though, she felt heat come to her cheeks at his sweet compliments.

"No, no...I wanted to give you this," he rambled before practically shoving the device in her face.

Thea leant back to properly inspect what it was he was showing her and recognised it as a portable cd player. 

She looked back up at Ben in confusion as to  _why_ he was showing her his music, but the boy huffed before moving to sit beside her and offering the headphones that were connected to the cd player.

Thea took the earbuds and pushed them into her ears, staring at Ben expectedly.

"I thought that maybe - you know, that maybe listening to music really loudly might help drown out all the voices..." he spoke unsurely.

Thea's brows rose in surprise at his thoughtfulness and she smiled brightly at the boy, pulling him into a grateful hug for his brilliant idea.

"You're a genius! How did I not think of this?" she asked in disbelief, kicking herself for not having come up with such a simple solution.

"Well, I know you have a record player but I don't think that'd help unless you played it  _really_ loud...but Dad wouldn't like that," Ben mused, and Thea nodded her agreement.

The old man was a stubborn bastard that didn't enjoy anything remotely fun. Especially loud music.

Thea pulled back from the hug and smiled up at Ben happily, "You're always thinking of everybody else. That's what I love about you," she said honestly.

Ben blushed brightly at her blunt honesty and Thea giggled at his cute expression. Neither of them really understood the significance of her words or the feelings that would develop between them both through the years, but for now, they both enjoyed the calm serenity they felt with one another.

Thea lay down on Ben's bed and patted the space next to her, inviting him to do the same. When the boy was beside her Thea turned on her side, so they were face to face and offered him one of the earbuds to share.

Ben smiled shyly and shuffled closer so they could both listen to the music together. He pressed play on the cd player and they both listened to the beginning acoustics of the song. 

Thea laughed when the lyrics started playing.

♪   ** _"Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine,  
_** ****_I'm leaving my life in your hands.  
_** ****_**_People say I'm crazy and that I am blind,  
_**_************_risking it all in a glance."_ ♪**

"Backstreet Boys,  _really?_  I didn't take you for that kind of guy," she teased.

Ben blushed and tried explaining himself. "It's catchy, ok?" Seeing her giggles he playfully shoved her, "Shut up, like  _you_ can talk."

"Hey! I have great taste in music!" she protested.

"Oh yeah, because Spice Girls are the peak of good music."

Thea shoved the boy back for his sarcastic comment. "Don't diss my girls, they're  _empowering_ , you wouldn't understand, being a Backstreet Boys fan, anyway," she sniped.

Ben and Thea stared at each other before bursting into giggles at their childish argument. Thea moved to lay her head on his chest, focusing in on the music playing through the headphones.

♪   ** _"Every little thing that you have said and done,  
_** ****_feels like it's deep within me.  
_** ****_**_Doesn't really matter if you're on the run,  
_******_****_it seems like we're meant to be."_ ♪**

Thea hummed the tune under her breath and listened to Ben's heartbeat alongside the music, finally able to disconnect from all the voices throughout the house. She could only hear the harmonisation of the singers and the thumping of Ben's heart.

She linked their fingers together and simply enjoyed the warmth and comfort he offered.

"Maybe this song's not too bad," she whispered.

 

♪   ** _"I don't care who you are_** ** _, where you're from,  
_******_what you did, as long as you love me."_** ♪**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I'm SO SORRY for not updating in like, a month! But honestly, I just wanted to concentrate on my other stories as this one is practically finished anyway.
> 
> Anyways, if you liked this, let me hear your thoughts :)


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